All we have is time
by hidinginthecorneragain
Summary: "She had gone. And he had let her go" 4 years ago, Preston Winters watched as Macey McHenry walked away from him. They haven't seen each other since, so where are they now? Sequel to Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Story is hopefully better than the summary. Read&Review please.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's been a while, so Hi.**

 **Welcome to the sequel to Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Just a heads up, this story is _extremely_ strange. There are both major and minor time skips between the chapters but they all link in together. If you haven't read the first story (Absence makes the heart grow fonder) then I suggest you go do that first, because otherwise some of this will probably make absolutely no sense to you whatsoever.**

 **Anyways, here it is. A very short chapter one. Hopefully you'll enjoy it, but either way please review and let me know what you think. Both positive and negative feedback is encouraged and welcomed.**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: ALLY CARTER OWNS THE GALLAGHER GIRLS SERIES, AND THE CHARACTERS. I, HOWEVER, OWN THE PLOT.**

* * *

It was midnight, and Macey McHenry was stood on the balcony of her apartment in Washington DC with a cup of coffee in her hand. The fourth of July was her least favourite holiday, it always had been. So she had decided to spend it alone. She'd spent the day curled up inside on her couch watching TV, and she'd planned to sleep for the entire evening. But the fireworks had disturbed her and she figured that if she was going to hear them, she might as well see them too.

As she watched the sky explode with burst of vibrant colours, she thought back to the one and only time that she had enjoyed this celebration.

 _It was fifteen years ago, Macey was 14. Her parents had thrown a huge party at their old house to celebrate independence day but Macey had snuck out away from the gathering inside and decided to sit on the roof. For around 10 minutes, she was sat up there by herself but then she heard footsteps approaching. She turned around, confused as to who would be coming up there, to be greeted by the face of Preston._

 _"I wondered where you'd gone." He said, taking a seat next to her._

 _"Well you're the only one stupid enough to realise that I was missing."_  
 _"That doesn't make me stupid, it makes me observant."_  
 _"Whatever. How come you're up here anyway?"_

 _"Just because."_  
 _"You better not be stalking me, because it really won't take me long to file a restraining order."_  
 _"You don't hate me that much."_  
 _"I believe you may have misjudged my character."_  
 _"No. No, I don't think so." He said, staring directly into her icy blue eyes. "I think you're too used to being misjudged that you expect it. And you don't hate me, so don't play that crap."_

 _"Why don't you become a psychologist when you leave school? Then, you'd get paid to get inside of people's heads."_  
 _"Oh you're hilarious."_  
 _"I try my best. Even if it's not always good enough." She mumbled the last part, and Preston shot her a concerned glance._

 _"Don't say that."_

 _"Why not, it's true? Just ask my parents, or your parents for that matter."_  
 _"Hmmm. Two politicians and their wives who make money off the back of them. I'm sure their opinions are extremely valid."_

 _Macey laughed. "Promise me that we're not gonna end up like our parents. Because if I end up like that then please just shoot me."_

 _"We can shoot each other."_

 _"That's a little bit too modern day Romeo and Juliet, don't you think?"_

 _"They died because they loved each other, not because they had turned into assholes. So unless you plan on falling in love with me any time soon, we're gonna have to find a different title."_

 _Macey looked at Preston. She didn't just look, she admired every detailed feature of him. His eyes, and the way that they would sparkle slightly when the light hit them. His complexion was pale and soft, but not as pale as her. It was strange, what she felt for him. He was a complete dork, in every sense of the word. If his appearance wasn't enough to give that away, all you had to do was take one look at his spiderman wristwatch to be convinced._

 _"Macey?"_

 _"I have a confession to make." She stated._

 _"Go on?" Preston said, just as the first of many fireworks went off. The sky was afire with light as the bursts of colour exploded around them. "Macey? You were gonna say something?" He called out over the bangs and crashes._

 _Macey shook her head, she didn't want to have to say it let alone shout it. So she did the only thing that she could think of. She leaned in slightly and kissed him. Expecting to be rejected by the boy beside her, her heart began to beat out of her chest when he kissed back. She had done it. Her walls were crumbling, her defences had come down and it had been done. Macey McHenry had let someone in._

Macey was startled out of her daydream by the sound of her doorbell ringing. She looked up, sighed and went inside to answer the door. When she opened it, Zach stood in front of her.

"Macey..." He started, with a strangely sympathetic look on his face.

"Zach? What's up?" Macey questioned, confused as to why he was at her apartment so late at night.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry..."

"Zach, you're confusing me. Are you okay? Is Cam okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine, and she's fine. She's on her way up."  
"What's wrong then?" She opened the door fully and he walked in.

"Look, before I say it. I did tell him that it was a bad idea..."  
"What? Tell who? What are you talking about Zach?"

"Preston joined the army." Zach sighed, and a long silence began. Macey tried to process what she'd just heard, but she couldn't. It had been four years since she'd last seen or heard from Preston. So why did she care so much?

"Macey? Macey, say something." Zach said, breaking the silence that had gone one for nearly 5 minutes.

"He joined the army." Macey stated plainly, as if the statement hadn't already been said.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't care."

"That's not gonna help."  
"What do you want me to say Zach? You want me to break down in tears and cry about how I may never see him again? I accepted that fate 4 years ago. And don't tell me that it's different, because I know that."

There was another knock at the door, and Macey opened it to find Cammie.

"Macey..."

"Don't. Don't give me the pity look. I don't care. Preston joined the army, and I don't care."

"That's just your problem Macey, you care too much."

And that was all it took. Macey McHenry wasn't generally one for crying. Not anymore. The last time she had cried was her second miscarriage, 4 years ago, and she hadn't cried since. But now, she stood there in front of two of her closest friends and burst into tears. No matter how many times she told herself that she didn't care, she knew that she was only lying to herself. Cammie and Zach stayed with Macey that night, just until she had fallen asleep. The crying had knocked all the energy out of her and she drifted off with tear-stained cheeks and muddled thoughts. Did she care? Of course she did.

* * *

 **AN: So there it is, chapter one.**

 **Hopefully it wasn't too terrible, or at least not as terrible as _I_ think it is.**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I need to make a point or two. And I need to do it in bold.**

 **They may be adults in this, but as you can read they're not really acting like it. There's a reason for this. If you look at the backgrounds of the characters in the series, none of them really had much time to be a child. They were training to become spies, and that isn't child's play. So yes, they may seem immature, but it's because they're still learning simple things like relationships due to focusing on the bigger things (like stopping terrorists...) for most of their lives.**

 **Second point. Yes, this whole entire story is extremely rushed. It puts a whole new meaning to 'fast-paced' because of the ridiculous time skips and events that often don't make any sense. Messed up and dramatic is how I roll so my writing reflects this, obviously.**

 **I just wanted to clear that up, because although most of what I write and how I write it will make sense to me, it may not always make sense to other people.**

 **Anyway, now that that's done, here is chapter 2. And warning, it gets even more crazy from here. Because normal is boring.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Gallagher Girls series, or the characters. Messed up and dramatic plot is mine though.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***6 MONTHS LATER***

"Okay! I'm coming. Calm it!" Macey called out to whoever was outside her front door. She had been woken up by somebody aggressively knocking the door and ringing the doorbell around 10 minutes ago. At first, she had tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, seeing as it was only 9am. But the person was persistent, and Macey couldn't ignore it any longer.

She had pulled an oversized sweatshirt on over her pyjamas and walked out to open the front door. When she did, she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, or more to the point, _who._

It took a moment for her to compose herself. "You're not really here, right? This is a dream. It's just another messed up dream and I'm not really here and you're not and..."  
"Hello to you to Macey." Preston said, laughing a little.

"Ok, maybe not a dream. If it was a dream, you would've disappeared by now. Right? It could be a hallucination, maybe I drank too much or..."

"This is really happening, I'm really here."  
"So you're definitely real?" She asked yet again and Preston nodded.

Macey took a moment to look at him. She noticed that his hair was shorter, much shorter and his eyes seemed brighter. She took a brief look again, and then extended her arm and slapped him. Hard.

"What was that for?" He shrieked a little.

"You joined the army." She stated plainly.

"Ok, so maybe I should've told you."

"You think? It would've taken you two minutes to drop it into a conversation."  
"We hadn't spoken in four years. Macey, this is the first time I've seen you since Cammie and Zach's wedding."

"Oh and that's my fault?"

"Well you were the one who was all like _'we need to talk'_ and then took off."

"You didn't contact _me_ though."  
"Oh well I'm sorry for giving you some space to think."

"Space to think is two or three days, Preston. Not four years. Are you gonna come in? " Macey said, opening the door fully as Preston walked in.

"Look, I'm sorry I never contacted you after the wedding. And I'm sorry I never told you about joining the army."

"It doesn't even matter anymore."  
"Let me guess, you're over it?"

"You don't get it do you?" she said, sitting down on the couch.

"Get what?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Boundaries."

"Boundaries?"  
"Yes, Preston. Boundaries."

" Okay...Care to explain said boundaries?"

"We broke up. You told me you still loved me, I walked away and we didn't speak for four years. And then Zach and Cammie turn up on my doorstep on the Fourth of July last year to tell me that you've joined the army. So now I have boundaries."

"Boundaries, against me?"

"Boundaries that stop you turning up on my doorstep and walking back into my life."  
"Right...So, what am I doing here?"

"I don't know Preston. What _are_ you doing here?"

"I've got 2 weeks leave. And I went home and I couldn't sleep so I've been awake all night. Then I was walking around the city this morning and somehow I ended up here. It's good to see you Mace"  
"It's good to see you too." She sighed.

"How've you been?"

"I was really busy with work for a while,but I took some time off. I go back next week because July 11th is the 120th day before the next general election. And one of the major candidates for Vice President has a daughter. Hopefully nobody wants to kill her best friend."  
"Hopefully." Preston laughed a little. "But other than work... How are things?"

"It's just me Preston. I haven't exactly had time to date people. I barely get time to speak to my friends. Between work and keeping up public appearances, I lose a lot of time. You could've just asked, subtlety never has been your strong suit. But how have you been? How's the army?"

"I never knew that a year could go so quickly. You lose track of time out there, it's weird. I've been stationed in the same place in Iraq for the entire time. There's a lot of activity there and it's really dangerous."  
"Iraq? They told me you'd gone but they wouldn't say where."

"I told them to keep it to themselves, I didn't want you to worry."  
"Preston, I constantly wake up with nightmares because I don't know where you are. I don't know if you're okay, or even if you're still alive."

"Macey..."

"I should've contacted you. After the wedding."  
"It doesn't matter now, remember. You're over it."

"I never said that. But you clearly are."  
"I never said that either. God Macey, this is the problem. We don't talk. We don't tell each other what we're thinking, or feeling and it leads to so much confusion which turns into anger. And then we both get frustrated because we jump to conclusions which are usually wrong."  
"I know. And nothing's changed Preston. You know I still feel the same way, but there isn't any way that we can make this work. Especially not now."  
"Marry me."  
Macey was shocked and sat there unable to reply. She must have made it up in her mind, he couldn't be serious. "What?" She asked, confused.

"Marry me."  
"Preston..."  
"No Macey. Let me talk, for once. I know that this is really random, and really rushed. We haven't spoken in 5 years now, and a lot must've changed. But the way that I feel about you hasn't. I was fighting in a war in the middle of a desert but the only thing on my mind was you. I love you Macey McHenry and I have ever since I first met you. So you can call me crazy and I have no doubt that you will. But yes, I'm asking you to marry me. And I really hope you will."

Macey stayed silent. And it wasn't due to shock because she knew exactly how he felt. But in that moment she was conflicted. This was what she had wanted, what she had planned, since the first time they had been together. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but was it really the best idea given the circumstances? But she couldn't lose him again. Once was enough, twice was torturous, three times would kill her.

"Yes. I'll marry you."

"Seriously?"

"This is going to be so difficult ,what with you being over 6,000 miles away and us having about 3 days to plan things. But if I lose you again then I'll be the crazy one. It's not that I can't live without you, because I can and I have. But if I don't have to then I don't want to. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, even if the circumstances make things complicated. And you're right, you are crazy. Absolutely insane, but you know I wouldn't have you any other way."

* * *

 **A/N: Hella crazy, hella rushed, believe me I know.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, or at least didn't detest it.**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 3.**

 **Hoping that y'all didn't completely hate chapter 2, but if you did then oh well.**

 **Keeping this AN short and sweet because I've started watching Supernatural again, and I must go watch. (Best friend should be proud)**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the series, and the characters and you get the idea.**

* * *

**3 DAYS LATER: MACEY AND PRESTON'S WEDDING***

The wedding was small. Extremely small. They had only had 3 days to plan everything, so they decided not to invite the whole entire country. The only guests were their close friends and family. Because of the limited planning, Macey had been stressing since the proposal. There were less than 2 minutes until she had to walk down the aisle and Macey was panicking.

"But what if this is a mistake?" She asked Cammie as she checked her makeup in the mirror.

"You're not making a mistake, Macey. It's rushed, it's moved very quickly but it's not a mistake."

"But..."  
"Macey, look at me." Cammie turned Macey around and put her hands on Macey's shoulders. "You are not making a mistake. You love Preston. You've wanted your last name to be Winters since we were teenagers. And if you even dare to deny it then I'm sure I still have one of your notebooks filled with his name in hearts."  
"Okay, it was never that extreme."  
"Haven't you ever heard of false evidence?"  
"If you even try, I will personally kick your ass."  
"And I'll let you, but only if you get married first. Now I'm gonna go and shut everybody up and you are gonna take your father's arm and saunter down that aisle."  
"Saunter?"

"You're Macey McHenry, marrying Preston Winters. Are you gonna _walk_ down the aisle, like a normal person? I think not. Now I'm leaving and you're not questioning." Cammie laughed a little and walked out of the room.

Macey waited for a moment, and then walked out of the room. Her father was waiting at the entrance of the courthouse where everybody was sitting inside.

"Macey, you ready?"

"Yeah Dad, I'm ready." She said, linking arms with him as the doors opened and everyone stood up.

"You know, I think that's the first time you've call me 'dad' in a long time Macey." He whispered as they walked.

"I'm sorry. I've not been the nicest of people to you."

"It's understandable, I was never really there for you like a parent should be. But you found your way Macey, and I honestly couldn't be more proud of you. The things you've done for people are amazing, and I know that it's part of your job but you've saved so many people. And now you're marrying Preston."  
"If you dare say I told you so then I have many contacts that can make you disappear..."  
"Well your mother told you so. And for once, she was right. But he's good for you. I know that, he knows that and the world knows it too."

"Thank you." She smiled as they stopped and Macey stood opposite Preston.

From that moment onwards, everything was a blur to Macey. She knew what was happening, and she heard every word. But it wasn't quite sinking in. Then, the officiant turned to the congregation. "Macey and Preston have written their own vows, which they'll now read. Macey, if you'd like to go first."

She coughed slightly to clear her throat and began to speak, with a shaking voice.

"Nearly two years ago, I stood up in front of over 500 people at my best friend's wedding and told everybody that I didn't believe in soul mates. And I stand by what I said, because I don't think that two people can be perfect for each other by coincidence. We're not perfect for each other, and everyone knows that. But you're the other half of me and arguably the better half. So I promise to love you, stick by you and argue with you for the rest of our lives."

"Thank you Macey. And now, Preston."

"You're many things, Macey. You're a daughter, a best friend, and often a pain in the ass. I'm supposed to stand up here today and make promises, but I don't see them like that. They're not promises, they're a gift. Because I get to spend the rest of my life with you, I get to laugh and cry with you, and I get to build my life with you. And it's because of that, I can honestly say that I'm the luckiest man in the world."

* * *

The reception came around quickly, which Macey was thankful for. She was now completely calm and totally stress-free. And happy. Macey was happy. Speeches were made by Macey's father, then Zach (as the best man) and then Cammie, the maid of honour.

"It seems strange, because just under 2 years ago Macey was making a speech at my wedding as my maid of honour. And now I'm doing the same for her. I'm terrible at this, purely because I'm not a people person. But there are things that we do for the people we love, even if we don't want to.

Macey isn't just a friend, she isn't even a best friend. Macey is my sister. Unfortunately, I don't actually have any biological siblings. But this played out in my favour because I got to pick them. And I chose Macey. When I first met her, Macey McHenry wasn't the nicest of people. She was a defensive 15 year old girl with a serious attitude problem and enough makeup to sink a cosmetic battle ship. But as I got to know her, I realised that she was just misunderstood. In reality, she was just trying to find her place in the world like the rest of us. And she found this place in a dorm room with Liz, Bex and Me. But she still felt out of touch in our world. Then, two years later when my aunt, our teacher and Macey's biggest role model took a bullet for her, she knew where she belonged. This was the same year that she introduced me to Preston who,at the time, was her secret boyfriend.

Although I've known Macey for longer, I have a lot to say about Preston too. Many of you will know that when I was in high school, I ran away. When I ran, I went to Rome. To Preston. I hadn't known him for long, but I felt like I could trust him. And I was right. There have been a lot of times in my life since then where I've confided in Preston about something that's bothered me. He's someone to count on, someone to be there, and I guarantee that's one of the reasons why Macey loves him so much.

They're not perfect, they're anything but. They're flawed, distorted, imprecise. But their intentions are pure, as are their hearts. They love each other, and obviously for them that's enough. They're inextricable, and that's all they need to be."  
The small crowd of people clapped as Cammie sat down, and Preston stood up to make his speech. He wasn't fazed by the small group of less than 100 people, he'd done this thousands of times.

"I've made speeches before. At charity galas, state dinners and other people's weddings. They were all important enough, but none like this one. I have to thank so many people, and I honestly don't know where to start. Our families must know by now, how much we value your support. This wedding has been planned in the space of 3 days, and you've all had to pull a lot of strings to get us here. But it's been done, and for that I'm very thankful. We both are.

Two people that I do have to thank are Cammie and Zach. I know that myself and Macey both played very important roles at your wedding, and I'm so happy that you've done the same. In the limited time that you guys had to help plan this, you've done an amazing job.

There are so many people who have helped us and enabled us to get where we are today. But there aren't enough hours in the day, days in the year or years in my life to thank each of you in the way that I should.

But there's one person who I do have to talk about. I'm not going to give you a long and boring story about how I met Macey, because that was over 15 years ago and most of you know the story. I could stand up here in front of all of you and lie. I could say that things between me and Macey have always been perfect. I could say that we fell in love instantly. I could say all that, but everybody knows I'd be lying.

There have definitely been a few storms that we've fought through, but we've come out of them better people. When I first knew that I loved you, my initial thought was "Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?" and to be honest, I had that thought this morning. Three times. Because yes, sometimes you can be very hard to cope with, but I accept your faults in the same way that I accept your strengths. And I hope you'll do the same with me.

There are many words I could use to describe Macey. But if I had to pick a favourite, I guess it would have to be 'wife'. And though that may be the term that I use to describe you, there aren't any words I can say that describe the way you make me feel. No combination of 26 letters can form a description of that. And I wouldn't want to have it any other way."

Preston sat down as the room was filled with applause from their guests and Macey stood up.

"Now you're probably wondering what the hell I'm doing, as the bride, making a speech. Because according to tradition, brides don't make speeches. But I'm a little bit of a non-conformist. I don't like rules, and I think that tradition sucks. So here I stand, at my own wedding reception, about to make a speech. Get over it already.

First of all, I want to thank you all for coming. 3 days is terribly short notice for a wedding, so I'm very glad that you all made it.

I always knew that I wanted to marry Preston. When we were younger, we talked about getting married all the time. But situations changed and things got in the way. We've broken up and gotten back together so many times and I'm sure you've lost count. The situation that's gotten us here is difficult. Very difficult. But we've made things work, and that's what we're going to continue to do.

Every difficult time in my life, Preston seems to have been a part of. Whether he was actually by my side or thousands of miles away, he's always been there. And yeah, a lot of the time he may have been the cause of my problems. But at the darkest of moments, he'd always be there. He'd put me back together, piece by piece.

I'm not sure what was going through Preston's mind when he asked me to marry him. I don't know whether it was a heat-of-the-moment decision or whether he had had it planned. But I didn't get it then, and I'm still confused. Because why would a guy like Preston, who could have anybody he wants, want to marry me? I'm difficult, impulsive, rebellious. He's predictable, calm and compliant. He is what I'm not. But that's one of the reasons that I love him. He's the other half of me, the better half and even though I could live without him, I don't want to."

* * *

 **And there it is.**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Don't think I have much to say, if I do then I've forgotten.**

 **Oh well.**

 **I'm kinda fed up, hence why I'm updating.**

 **Anyway,**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls series, etc.**

* * *

***2 MONTHS LATER: LABOR DAY***

It was Labor Day. Preston had gotten home late the previous night, as he had taken a few days leave and Macey had the day off too. It was only 8am, and Macey was already awake. She wrapped her cardigan around her, slipped out of the bedroom and went and sat on the sofa. She hadn't slept properly for a few weeks now. Instead of disturbing Preston, she decided to call Cammie. So she pulled her phone of out her pocket and dialed the number. Cammie picked up almost immediately.

"Hey Macey." She said sleepily.

"Hey, did I wake you?"

"No, no I just got up. But you didn't wake me. You okay?"

"No, not really."

"What's up?"

"Oh it's nothing major..."  
"Which means that it's a big problem. Talk."  
"Preston got in last night, he took a few days leave."

"That's not the whole story though. Come on Mace, I'm not a mind reader."

"I need to tell him something, but I don't know if I should."

"What'd you need to tell him?"

"I'm 8 weeks pregnant, Cammie."

"Oh God, Macey. When did you find out?"

"A few weeks ago."

"Look, you're not gonna like what I have to say but I'm gonna say it anyway."

"Go on."  
"You really do have to tell him."

"Thanks for that Captain Obvious. I don't even want the baby."  
"Yeah you do. You're just trying to convince yourself that you don't because then if Preston agrees it'll be easier for you to deal with having an abortion. Right?"

"I suppose you're right."

"I normally am." Cammie laughed a little, and Macey could practically hear her smirking through the phone. "Listen, Mace. I've gotta go but you really do need to tell him okay?"  
"Okay."  
"Call me when you've spoken to him."  
"I will, thank you Cam."  
"Talk later."

"Bye."

As she slid her phone back into the pocket of her cardigan, Macey heard footsteps approaching. She turned around to see Preston walking towards the couch.

"Hey." She said, smiling slightly.

"Hey yourself." He said, sitting down next to her.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tired. Are you okay? You look quite pale."

"Well...Erm...Not really.."  
"What's up? Talk to me."

She sighed deeply. "I didn't want to tell you. I _don't_ want to tell you..."

"Macey. What is it?"

"I'm pregnant." She blurted. And as soon as she had said it, she wanted to take the words back. The pair of them sat in silence which lasted for nearly 5 minutes.

"How far along?" Preston asked, breaking the tension between them.

"About 2 months."  
"How are you feeling about it?"

"I don't want it."

"Macey..."

"No. Let me finish. I don't want the baby, because I don't want to go through what's happened before. I can't deal with that again."  
"It might be different."  
"You said that last time."  
"Well I'm sorry I'm not psychic. You're not even willing to chance it."  
"Oh right, so you want me to take a chance and hope that the baby won't die."  
"Yes! You can't just decide that you want an abortion before you even try."

"Before I try? Seriously? Do you not think I tried the past two times when I lost _both_ babies? Do you think I _wanted_ to miscarry twice? Or are you just plain stupid?"

"Yeah, sure I'm the stupid one."  
"So because I'd rather not put myself through hell for a third time, I'm stupid. Well thank you for finally giving me an honest opinion!"

"Don't give me that crap Macey."

"I don't know why you're getting so worked up about all of this anyway."

"Maybe because it's my kid too. You can't just think about yourself."  
"Oh, sorry. Did you want me to transfer the fetus to _your_ womb? No? That's right because you don't _have_ one."  
"You can't play the 'I have a womb' card Macey, it's just as much my child as it is yours."

"Yes but _you_ can't die from pregnancy. _I_ can."  
"So that's it? You don't want the baby so you're not having the baby?"

"It's not that I don't _want_ the baby. You know that I want kids. I...I just..."  
"Just what, Macey?"

"I don't want to be responsible for killing _another_ child." She sighed, turning away from him.

"Macey. Listen. You didn't kill anyone. Those miscarriages, they weren't your fault. We can get help this time, extra scans and regular blood tests."

"That stuff costs a fortune." she muttered.  
"Look around, Macey. We _have_ a fortune. We really can do this."

"I can't do it if you're not gonna be here. If you're 6000 miles away then what am I gonna do if something happens?"

"I can get a transfer back into America. Hell, I could even get thrown out."

"Preston, you won't be able to get kicked out of the army. It's not boarding school and _you're_ not 14 year old me."

"I'll do it. Or I can continue my term but just take leave when you need me here. I'll find a way to be here, I have before. And when I'm not, we can Skype and FaceTime. I might not be able to actually be here, but we'll sort this. And besides, my enlistment was only 2 years to start with, and that ends in July. Everything's gonna be fine, we're going to do this."  
"I don't get how you can be so optimistic."  
"Someone has to be, and by the looks of things it's not gonna be you. Just stop stressing, if that's even possible."

Macey sighed. She was terrified. All of the odds were against her, and she knew it. They both did. But despite everything that they had gone through, and everything that was yet to come, Macey and Preston were determined that they would get this right. They would do everything that they could in order to bring this child into the world. And although they knew it could end in tears, and that it may not go completely to plan, they owed it to themselves to try.

* * *

"Preston, where the hell are you?"  
"I'm literally two blocks away, what's wrong?"

"I think my water just broke."  
"Shit, where are you?"

"At this precise moment in time, i'm sitting on the bathroom floor in a lot of pain because my contractions are every 5 minutes."  
"I'll call the hospital, let them know that we're on our way."

"Whatever, just get your ass home already." She yelled and put the phone down.

Just under 5 minutes later, Preston burst through the front door. Macey was still sat on the bathroom floor with her head resting on the side of the bathtub. Preston shut the front door and walked into the bathroom.

"You took your time." Macey snapped.

"I got here as fast as I could."  
"There's a bag with some clothes and stuff in under the bed, can you get it please?" She asked as she began to try and stand up.

"You need some help?" Preston asked.

"I'm going into labor, not dying. I can stand up by myself, but thanks." She said, walking out of the bathroom and waiting by the front door whilst Preston got her bag from the bedroom.

"You ready?" He asked, walking out of the bedroom.

"Yeah. I think so."

"Let's go then." He said, opening the door for her and walking out to the car.

When they were driving towards the hospital, Macey asked "So you called the hospital, right?"

"Yes Mace."  
"And they definitely know that we're coming?"

"Listen Macey, I know that you're worried. But you've gotta stop stressing. It's not doing anyone any good, especially not the baby. You've done so well so far, this is it. Just focus on what you've already done, and it doesn't seem so bad."

Neither of them spoke again until they got to the hospital. They pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car and walked into the hospital. From then, it was difficult for Macey to process what was going on. To her,it seemed like she was watching her life through a TV screen. Like she wasn't really there. It all seemed so unreal however it was anything but.

* * *

On June 10th at 1:44 am, Macey gave birth to a somewhat healthy baby girl. At 1:52, Macey, Preston and their newborn baby were all fast asleep.

* * *

"Macey. Mace, honey wake up." Preston said, trying to wake her up gently.

She stirred, and opened her eyes slightly but then sat up in a panic. "What? What is it? Is she okay?"

"She's absolutely fine, calm down." He said, looking over at the sleeping baby.

"Why did you wake me then?" Macey said, in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

"We have visitors." Preston exclaimed. Then Cammie, Zach and the others walked in, as if on cue.

"Hey!" Cammie said, rushing over to Macey's side.

"Shhhh. She's sleeping." Macey hushed, gesturing to the hospital bassinet where the little girl was fast asleep.

"Oh my god, she's gorgeous." Liz squealed quietly.

"Well with those two for parents, do you really expect anything less?" Bex asked, laughing to herself a little.

"She looks tiny, how much does she weigh?" Jonas asked

"5 pounds. She's 5 ounces under the average, so we've got to keep a close eye on her to make sure that there aren't any health problems. The doctors said that it was probably down to the amount that I ate when I was carrying her, which wasn't very much." Macey explained.

"Or they said that it could've been stress." Preston added.

"Well yeah, but that was a bit obvious. Having a husband who's fighting overseas kinda causes you to worry a little more than usual."

"But she's okay though?" Zach asked, looking at Preston.

"She's healthy, and she's alive. So yeah, she's okay."

"We keep saying 'she'. Does _she_ have a name?" Grant questioned.

"Not yet." Preston and Macey said simultaneously.

"We have ideas." Preston continued.

"But we didn't actually have time to name her." Macey finished. "Not yet anyways."

"You look tired." Preston whispered, looking over at Macey.

"I am."

"Well we just came by to check up on y'all, so we'll let you get some rest. We know what you're like when you don't get enough sleep." Bex smiled, and hugged Macey.

"Thank you for coming." Macey smiled back as Bex, Liz, Grant and Jonas walked out.

"We'll catch up." Cammie called out as the door shut. "Can I talk to Macey real quick? Is that okay?" she asked.

"Yeah sure, we'll talk outside." Zach said as he and Preston walked out of the room too.

Macey moved over in the bed slightly and Cammie sat down on the edge. "You okay?" Macey asked her.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. I should be asking that to you!"

"I'm okay. I'm so exhausted, but it was worth it." She smiled, looking over at the baby.

"She really is beautiful. And I'm so proud of you Mace. You were so scared, you didn't even want to tell Preston. But just look what you've done. You've given birth to the most adorable baby I have ever seen, and you're gonna raise her to be as amazing as her parents."

"Cam, stop. Seriously you _will_ make me cry."

"Okay! Okay! I just...I'm really happy for you. It's good to see you in such a good mood, even if you are exhausted."

"Thank you." Macey smiled and pulled Cammie into a hug. "You've been so supportive. I really thought this was gonna be a lot more difficult. What with Preston not being around, and this being my third pregnancy. But you've helped me so much. You've been there for me every step of this, and I know that I couldn't have done it without you."

"Now _you're_ gonna make _me_ cry." Cammie laughed a little.

"But I'm serious!"

"I know. But hey, what are friends for?" She smiled and stood up, just as Preston and Zach walked back into the room.

"Damn, I think we missed sappy-girly-talk-time again Preston!" Zach said sarcastically and Preston laughed.

"I may have only given birth 10 hours ago but I will still get up and kick your ass if I need to Goode." Macey said.

"Yeah, don't mess with hormonal Macey." Cammie said, laughing as she and Zach got ready to leave.

"Damn right" Macey called out as Cammie and Zach were leaving.

Two minutes later, all was quiet. Preston sat down in the chair opposite the bed where Macey was still resting.

"She's been so quiet, is she alright?" Macey asked, gesturing to the bassinet. Just as she said it, the baby started to stir and within a minute she was wide awake and crying.

"You jinxed it." Preston said, picking the baby up and gently rocking her back and forth to calm her. Almost immediately, she had stopped crying and instead was staring intently at Preston.

"You're so good with her." Macey smiled, but then the baby started to cry again.

"And you jinxed it again."

"Bring her here, she might need feeding." She said, and Preston handed her to Macey.

The second that she was in Macey's arms, the little girl stopped crying.

"I think she just wanted her mother." Preston smiled and sat back in the chair. "Oh, and I think we should talk names again."

"We liked Isabella, right?"

"Isabella Winters... I like it. It suits her."

"Yeah...I think so too."

"Did you decide on a middle name?"  
"What did we narrow it down to?"

"Amelia, or Abigail. I think Abigail fits better."  
"I know. But Abby is gonna think that it's a personal shout-out to her."

"You mean to tell me it isn't?"

"It fits well."

"So that's that then?"

"I think so."

"Well, welcome to the world then Isabella Abigail Winters."

* * *

 **Sorry for spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes or typos.**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I HAD A HORRIBLE DAY YESTERDAY AND THE REVIEWS I GOT MADE IT SO MUCH BETTER.**

 **Literally, I thought that that chapter wasn't going to go down as well as it did, and I'm sooo happy that you guys liked it.**

 **I was originally planning on updating like once a week, that isn't happening. I seem to be updating rather sporadically, and I'm okay with that.**

 **Anyway, here is chapter 5. (This is personally one of my favourite chapters tbh.)**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***5 MONTHS LATER: THANKSGIVING***

The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, Roseville, Virginia.

As their car pulled through the Gallagher Academy gates, Macey stared out of the window. It had been a while since she'd been here, and she had missed it. To her,this would always be her true home.

"Are you alright?" Preston asked her, breaking the long yet comfortable silence.

"Nervous." She stated, and Preston was shocked by her immediate honesty.

"Because we're back at Gallagher?"

"No. It's just, this is Isabella's first thanksgiving and it's the first time everyone's been together in a long while. I don't want it to go badly."

"I know. But it's gonna be okay." He reassured, taking hold of her hand with his own.

"As long as there aren't a series of huge announcements that include you sleeping with my best friend, then yeah I'm sure it will." She said bitterly.  
"Oh so _that's_ why you're so worked up about all this? You know, that happened over 7 years ago. You could just drop it."  
"You fail to mention how I only found out about it 5 years ago. So no, I won't drop it."  
"Are we _seriously_ going to sit in this car and argue for the rest of the day or are we gonna get out?"

"I don't know. Do you have anything that you need to tell me before we go in there?"

"Are you actually asking me...?"

"Well it wasn't a rhetorical question..."  
"Macey..."

"I'm sorry, I'm tired and irritable because I was up half of the night with Isabella."  
"You should've woken me up."

"I didn't want to disturb you."  
"Well next time, disturb me instead of taking your tiredness out on me the next day." He laughed a little, and Macey smiled slightly knowing that this conversation was far from over.

"Come on." She said, picking Isabella up out of the carseat. "We should probably go inside now."

They opened their car doors, stepped out and walked towards the front door of the Academy. As soon as they approached the building, the doors opened and Cammie let them inside.

"You guys took your time, you were parked out there for like 10 minutes before you got out." Cammie said, laughing a little as they walked.

"We needed to talk about something." Preston said, which intrigued Cammie but she knew not to pry..

"But how are you?" Macey asked Cammie, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Exhausted. I got back from a mission in Istanbul yesterday, and then we came straight here. So it's been a lot of travelling."

"You didn't tell me you were on a mission."  
"It was a short one, I was only there for a week."

"You should've told me. If anything had happened..."

"Then you would've been one of the first to find out."  
"I know... But I worry about you. And Zach and Bex."  
"Well it's not like you're much better. At least you know if we're gonna put ourselves in danger. You just jump in front of bullets and throw yourself into unstable situations whenever you feel like it."

"I'll text you next time there's a bullet I plan to jump in front of,just in case." Macey said sarcastically and Cammie laughed. Preston was walking well ahead of them, carrying Isabella.

"Is everything okay with you two?" Cammie asked, whispering just to be careful.

"I'll talk to you about it later."  
"So it's bad then?"

"It's been bad for two months. We argue every single day, at least twice."  
"You'll get through it, you always do."

"I know." Macey half-smiled as they walked into the Grand Hall and sat down at the table with everybody else. Preston was sitting at the end of the table, with Zach to his left. Cammie sat down next to Zach and Macey sat opposite Preston. To Cammie's left was Bex, and to Bex's left was Grant, and then Joe was at the other end. Opposite Joe was Rachel,then to her right sat Abby who was next to Townsend, then Jonas, Liz and finally, Macey.

Various conversations occurred around the table, but Macey sat there in silence. Preston was sat talking to Zach, rocking Isabella back and forth gently.

"Preston." Macey said, interrupting his conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Can I have Isabella for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure. You alright?"

"Yeah, I just need to go for a walk, so I'm gonna take her with me." Macey said, standing up and lifting the baby out of Preston's arms. As Macey walked out of the room, Abby looked up the table towards Cammie.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't think so."

"She said she was fine." Preston stated, and everybody looked at him like he was completely stupid.

"Should I go talk to her?" Cammie asked. " I mean, she probably won't listen."  
"No it's fine, I'll go." Abby said, getting up.

"You can't save her every time, Abigail." Townsend said. "She needs to grow up sometime."

"Grow up? What, like you have?" Abby said sarcastically, as she walked outside to find Macey.

It didn't take long for Abby to find Macey. But then again, it wasn't like she was trying to hide. She was sat on a bench in the middle of the grounds, with Isabella sitting upright on her lap.

"Hey." Abby said, sitting next to Macey.

"Oh, hi."

"You sound happy." Abby remarked, sarcastically as usual.

"Aren't I always?"

"She looks a lot like you, you know." She said, looking at Isabella.

"Really? I think she looks more like Preston."  
"Well either way, she got the best genes from the pair of you. I hear her middle name is Abigail."  
"Don't get all conceited."  
"Of course not, it's cute. It's an awesome person's name."  
"Conceited."

"Okay, get to the actual point here. What's up?"

"My marriage is very close to breaking point. We haven't had a day in the last few months where we haven't argued at least twice. And I don't know what to do anymore. I thought Isabella would bring us closer, but she hasn't. I'm usually up half of the night trying to calm her down, she's not sleeping properly so neither am I. And then I'm grouchy in the morning and I end up taking it out on Preston. But he's hardly home, because he's always working. He wants to run for Senator of Virginia, so we're gonna be moving from DC which is a lot of hassle. I really hope it's just a rough patch, but I'm not sure that it is."  
"And let me guess, you're thinking divorce?"

"No! I mean, it's crossed my mind a few times but no. It's not that I don't love him, I just don't see him. And he doesn't see Isabella."

"You don't want her to feel the same way about you and Preston as you did about your Mom and Dad, right?"

"Yeah."  
"You need to tell him that then, and you need to do it soon. Tell him you support his decision to run for Senator, but explain to him that you need him to spend time with you too."

"I'm just scared, I don't want to end up like my mother. And I don't want him to end up like my father."  
"And you don't want Isabella to end up like you. Which, by the way, wouldn't be that bad. You were a pain the ass when you wanted to be, but you weren't the worst child in the world."

"Thank you, I think?"

"Yeah, it was a compliment." Abby smiled, and Macey smiled back.

But it wasn't a genuine smile. It was a something-else-is-wrong-but-I-don't-want-you-to-ask smile, a classic tactic that Macey had perfected before she could walk but of course, Abby saw straight through it.

"Now there's something you're not telling me, something that's bothering you. And you're an absolutely crap liar most of the time so don't even try to tell me that nothing's wrong. What is it?"

Macey sighed deeply. "I'm worried."

"About?"

"Well, usually when things get difficult between me and Preston he runs off. And who does he usually run off to?"

"Cammie?"

"Yep."

"And you think he's gonna run off to her again?"

"I'd put a bet on it if it wasn't weird. It's not that I don't trust him..."  
"Well he hasn't exactly given you much to work with to be honest. I think you should talk to them both. Literally sit them down and tell them that you won't stand for it."  
"Oh and let them call me defensive and accuse me of holding a grudge? Why not?"

"I see your point, but it's the only way that you'll get around it."

"Get around what?" Preston said, appearing almost out of nowhere.

"And that's my cue to leave.." Abby said, standing up and beginning to walk back towards the school.

"No, Abby. Don't you dare..."  
"Macey, just talk to him. And let me take Isabella inside, she must be getting cold."

Macey sighed and handed Isabella over to Abby, who smiled and walked back inside with the baby. When he was sure that Abby had Isabella out of earshot, Preston turned to Macey.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? And don't tell me nothing, because you've barely spoken to me all week."

"Well I've barely seen you, so is it really surprising?"

"It's not like I ran away, I was working."

"That's just it,Preston. You're always at work. We have a 5 month old daughter, and you hardly ever see her. I understand about the campaign and everything, and I'm willing to support you. But you've _got_ to compromise a bit."

"It's a bit hard to compromise when I'm trying to run for a senate seat, Macey. You should know that."

"I can't do this. I can't have this argument with you."

"Well what are you gonna do, walk away?"

"Might do."  
"Are you walking away from this argument, or this marriage?"

To Macey, it felt like a giant bus had just materialised out of nowhere and hit her directly in the face. They both stood there in complete and utter silence, neither one of them wanting to speak. But they didn't break eye contact, as if they were trying to read each other's thoughts because if the spoke out loud the words would be misinterpreted.

"Macey, the least you could do is answer my..."  
"Shut up.." She snapped. "Just shut the hell up." She ordered, and for once Preston stayed silent. "You want to know why I can't have this argument with you? Cause I'll tell you if you want."  
"Go on."

"My most vivid memory of my childhood is five year old me, sitting in my room with my hands over my ears to try and block out the noise of my mother screaming at my dad. He wasn't around enough, he was always working. We never saw him and she couldn't cope with me. So every time they spoke, it would turn into an argument. And that night, it was the worst one I've ever heard. She just kept screaming at him, and he shouted back. It went on for hours, until my dad asked her if she wanted a divorce. It went silent and then I heard her crying. They stopped arguing then, for that day.

Do you understand now? We agreed that we wouldn't turn into our parents, but that's exactly what's happening. And it scares me."  
"Our situation is different though Macey."

"I get that."  
"So, are you walking away from the argument or from the marriage?"

"Neither. Look, I'm not gonna divorce you. Are you insane? After everything we've gone through, you really think I'm gonna throw that away over a few problems?"

"What else is it then? You said a few problems."

"If you freak out at me for this..."  
"I won't."  
"You usually do." She muttered under her breath. "I was really nervous about coming here, because usually when things get difficult between us you end up talking it through with Cammie. And I didn't want it to escalate to anything more than that..."  
"Jesus Christ Macey." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"You said you wouldn't freak out."

"This isn't freaking out. You'd know if I was freaking out. Listen, I made promises when I said my vows. Okay? And I intend to stick by them. I'm not gonna run off to Cammie, I'm not going to sleep with her again, or kiss her or anything. I love you, you know that. But I don't love the way you're shutting yourself away from me. I understand that you're in an extremely difficult position right now. I've put you in that position. You've had to take leave from work, you're having to look after a 5 month old baby practically by yourself and you're still supporting me in the campaign. As well as packing things up for us to move. But I really wish you'd just talk to me instead of arguing. I don't want to lose you Macey, I'm not prepared for that. And I'm sure as hell not gonna let it happen."

" I don't want to lose you either,Preston. But we're running in circles again and again. I'm going to shut myself away if I can't deal with things. I'm going to be extremely distant from you. And I know that you love me, and I trust you. But I think for now I just need some space."

" Macey..."

" If you can't give me space then it's going to create another argument. And if we keep arguing then as much as I hate to say it, there _will_ be a set of divorce papers on your desk before you know it."

She snapped, and stormed inside without looking back at him.

* * *

It was late. 12:45am to be exact. Preston was sat on a windowseat inside of the academy, with a bottle of wine.

As he sat there, drinking from the bottle and looking outside at the school grounds, he heard footsteps approaching. He turned around, and saw that it was Cammie standing in front of him.

"How come you're still up?" He asked, his voice slightly slurred.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same."

"What's wrong, Preston?" Cammie said, sitting down next to him.

"Argument with Macey."

"Again? How bad?"

"Divorce bad"

"Is she _actually_ filing for one?"

"I don't know. She said that if I don't give her space then it's possible. So I'm giving her space." He took another swig from the bottle, then placed it down in between him and Cammie.

"And you think that getting drunk is giving her space? How much have you had?"

"I don't even know." He laughed a little. " You know, I don't know why I married Macey."

"Preston, she's my best friend and you're treading on very thin ice here."

"No, but when you and Zach got married you didn't constantly argue, did you?"

"Because that's us. Me and Zach are different to you and Macey."

"Maybe it's just Macey. Maybe things are different between you and Zach because of you. You're a lot calmer than her, and less bitchy."

"Preston, it's late..."

"Where did it go wrong, Cammie?" He asked, staring deep into her eyes. Without hesitation, or even a second thought, he leaned in and kissed her. Cammie was confused at first. What was she doing? What was _he_ doing? They were both married, and Preston had a kid with her best friend. It was crazy, insane, so why did it feel so normal?

"That." She said, breaking the kiss. "That's where it went wrong. It happened once, twice, three times and I'm not letting this be number four."

"Oh, right. Yeah."

"Preston..." She moved away from him a bit and shook her head. "You're drunk. You're so drunk you're not thinking."

"I don't know what came over me... I...I...I'm sorry, I just."  
"You don't need to apologise..."

"Yes. I really do because..."

"Preston. Maybe we should just not talk about it. At all. Ever."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Look, I should probably go try get some sleep." She said, standing up. "And you should too. Whether Macey's mad at you or not, she's not gonna turn you away at 1am in the morning."  
"Like I said, giving her space."

"Goodnight Preston." She smiled at him briefly, and walked towards her room.

As she turned the corner, Abby appeared from her room. She stood in the doorway, looking at Cammie.

"God, Abby you scared me."

"I'd say sorry, but..."  
"But you're not. What are you doing awake anyway?"

"We need to have a little talk."  
"Not that I don't love our conversations, Abby. But what on earth do we need to talk about at 1 in the morning?"

"We need to talk about what I just saw." Abby crossed her arms.

"Well, what _did_ you just see?"

"Don't play the fool with me Cameron." She responded, and something about her tone of voice reminded Cammie of how her mother would speak to her when she was a child.

"How much did you see?"

"Cammie..."  
"Have you already told Macey? God, you have haven't you?"

"I'm many things, Cammie. An idiot isn't one of them."

"Are you _going_ to tell her?"

"Are _you_? Look, I'm not the one playing homewrecker in this situation. I just saw what I saw."

"Did you just call me a homewrecker?"

"What are you gonna do, honey, run and tell your mom? Because you know that she'll take Macey and Zach's sides in this."

"What sides? There aren't sides to take."

"What you just did, that counts as cheating. You're married Cammie."

"I didn't start it..."  
"It doesn't matter _who_ started it. The fact that you didn't immediately push him away means that you were an active participant. You're not a kid anymore Cammie, you can't just blame it on Preston because 'he started it'. You didn't stop it. You didn't want to. This wouldn't be so bad if you were all still teenagers. But you're adults. Fully grown, supposedly happily married adults. You've gotta start acting like it."

"Abby, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop trying to get inside my head at 1am. Tell mom, Joe, Townsend, whoever you want. But you _cannot_ tell Macey and Zach."

"I just thought I'd warn you that if you and Preston are planning on sneaking around like teenagers, then you might want to be a bit more careful so you don't get caught like teenagers. I'm not judging you, I'm not telling you what to do. But this is gonna come back around to you sooner or later. Karma's a bitch sweetie." And with that, Abby disappeared back into her room leaving Cammie alone in the corridor.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Inconsistent updating again.**

 **But I love this chapter too, and I love when you guys review bc it makes me v happy.**

 **Thank you to my best friend, who helped me come up with the ideas for most of the stuff in this chapter. Ily Chizzler.**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls series and the characters.**

* * *

***Next Day***

"Cam, you look exhausted. Are you alright?" Bex asked as Cammie walked into the room that Macey had been sleeping in. Macey and Liz looked up, waiting for Cammie to respond to the question.

"Bad night, that's all. I didn't sleep very well."

"You should've come and woken me." Macey said, which made Bex and Liz giggle a little. "What, why are you laughing?" Macey asked curiously.

"If she'd woken you up, you probably would've tried to kill her." Liz laughed.

"Oh you're hilarious. So funny Liz, well done."

"God, somebody clearly put two extra spoonfuls of snarky-bitch on _your_ cereal this morning." Bex said sarcastically. "Let me guess, Preston pissed you off again."

Macey didn't speak, which created an awkward yet readable silence.

"That means I'm right." Bex added.

"I don't think she really wants to talk about it, Bex." Cammie said, hoping that somebody would change the subject before it got awkward.

"Why don't we watch a movie or something? Abby and Rachel are looking after Isabella." Macey said.

"Correction, my mom stole your child because she thinks that she's the most adorable baby ever." Cammie said, laughing.

"What movie are we watching then?" Bex asked, looking through a load of DVD boxes in Macey's suitcase. She held up the first one, which was _Breathe In._

"That looks good." Liz said.

"It's amazing! I love it so much" Cammie said, getting really overexcited about the movie, which was usually what happened. "Mace, you good with that one?"

"Sure." She said, not paying much attention anyway.

So they put the movie on, and sat down to watch it.

Halfway through it, Macey rolled her eyes and sighed deeply causing Bex, Liz and Cammie to look over at her.

"What?" She asked, confused as to why they were staring.

"What was the deep and meaningful sigh for?" Bex asked, pausing the movie to allow for Macey's explanation, which would probably turn into an argument.

"Well, I don't know. I just find it absolutely ridiculous how he went behind his wife's back to be with that _thing._ It's just stupid."

"Oh no, here we go again." Liz sighed, she knew what was coming next.

"Felicity Jones is not a _thing._ She is an extremely talented actress." Bex said.

"I know, she's a brilliant actress. But her character in this movie is a complete homewrecker. He shouldn't have gone behind his wife's back."

"Well I happen to think it's beautiful. Forbidden relationships are amazing. I just think that when two people love each other so much that they don't care who they hurt, it's fascinating." Cammie added.

"Well you would, wouldn't you?" Macey said bitterly and the room when quite.

"Hey, Liz. I was gonna show you that _thing,_ remember?" Bex said, subtly trying to get Liz to leave the room so that Macey and Cammie could argue without interruption. Liz just nodded and her and Bex walked out swiftly, leaving Macey and Cammie alone.

"Macey, listen. I'm so sorry. It was late and it was a mistake and..."

"Cammie, what are you talking about?"

"Abby told you, didn't she?"

"Told me what? What's going on?"

"Shit." Cammie cursed, realising what she had just done.

"Cammie? You better explain to me what the hell's going on within the next two seconds before I explode, volcano style."

"Oh god, okay. Erm... Last night, I couldn't sleep and I was walking through the corridors and I saw Preston on the windowseat. He'd been drinking because he was upset. He was convinced that you were serious about divorcing him and we kissed and..."

"You what?"

"Macey..." Cammie started. But before she even had time to begin her sentence, Macey was up and out of the door. She stormed down the corridor towards Rachel's office. She tapped lightly on the door, but burst in before anyone could speak. Rachel, Joe, Townsend and Abby were sat in there. Abby, who had Isabella on her lap, was the first to notice the look on Macey face.

"Macey. Do you need to sit down?" Abby asked, concerned.

"Don't even talk." Macey snapped back at her.

Abby just looked shocked.

"Don't look at me like that, you knew and you didn't tell me."

"Macey, I knew at 1am. I wasn't going to wake you up and tell you that your husband kissed your best friend. And I haven't even spoken to you today so when would I have had the chance? Besides, it wasn't my place to tell."

"Where are the guys?"

"Outside that door right now, if my guess is correct." Joe stated, opening the door to the faces of Zach, Grant, Joe and Preston. Behind them were Bex, Liz and Cammie.

"I want Cammie and Preston in here, now." Macey ordered, taking Isabella from Abby and holding her close to her chest in almost a defensive manner.

Cammie and Preston walked in, and the door was shut behind them leaving the others outside.

"Mace..." Preston started.

"Don't talk. I'm done with you."  
"When you say done?..."

"Macey you can't divorce him..." Cammie muttered, but it was audible.

"Despite what you might think, he's _my_ husband. So I'll divorce him if I want. At the moment, I just want an explanation."  
"I told you..." Cammie said.

"Macey, it was all me. Okay? She didn't kiss back, she pulled away and she told me that it was wrong. Cammie hasn't done anything, don't be pissed at her again."

"Strangely enough, I actually believe you. Because it always seems to be you that starts it. I get that you were drunk, but after the conversation we had yesterday..."

"When shall I expect the papers to be on my desk?"

"I'm not talking about this here. Not now. I'll talk when we're home. But not now."

"I'll go sort our stuff out."  
"I'll meet you at the car." She said, as he walked out and closed the door.

"Macey, I'm so sorry. I should've woken you up and told you. And it didn't mean anything, you've gotta know that."

"I know Cammie."

"Because... Wait, what?"

"I'm tired of this. Having the same argument with you because of something that _he's_ done. I can't forgive you, because there's nothing to forgive you for. I overreacted, it's fine."

"Macey you don't have to be like that. It's clearly affected you more than you're saying."  
"Cammie. It's fine. I'm not mad at you, it's my own fault. If I hadn't of threatened him with the divorce thing then he wouldn't have got drunk. He never gets drunk, and when he does it's usually because of me. So if anyone's to blame here, it's me. Now I better go, but I'll call you. Okay?" She said, and Cammie just nodded.

Before Macey left, she turned to Abby. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault either..."

"You can't blame yourself for this Macey..."

"I kinda can. Look, I really am sorry. I was out of order and I shouldn't have snapped at you.."

"You don't need to apologise, you're allowed to be angry. And you being bitchy to me kinda felt like old times." Abby joked and Macey laughed a little.

"I should go and sort out the mess that is my marriage." She sighed, opening the door and walking out.

When she walked out, she came face to face with Zach.

"Macey, what the hell's gone on? Nobody's told me anything. Preston just stormed outside to your car and he wouldn't look at me..."

"Zach..."

"Just tell me if I need to know. If I don't, you don't have to say anything."  
"No, you should know. I mean, I don't want to tell you but..."  
"Did she sleep with him again?"

"Cammie didn't do anything. Preston kissed her, but she pushed him away."  
"Damn it, I'm gonna kill him." Zach snapped, and Macey could feel the anger radiating off of him.

"No, Zach. Listen, he was drunk and it was my fault."

"How was it _your_ fault?"

"I told him that I was considering divorcing him."

"Macey, what the hell? Why?"

"We've been having problems for a while, but it doesn't matter."

"It matters, Macey. Are you okay?"

"No, Zach. I'm not okay. Because my husband kissed my best friend and it's my fault, my marriage is falling apart and my daughter isn't even a year old yet she's having to hear her parents fight ever single day. And I know that she won't remember it, but it's not the point."  
"I... I don't know what to say."

"Well there's a first."

"If there was anything I could do, or say..."  
"There is."

"What?"  
"Don't be mad at Cammie. Let her explain, let her talk it through. But don't you dare be mad at her. Now I've gotta go, I have to go home and fix this. But you go into that office now, you hug her and you tell her that you don't care. Even though you do, pretend that you don't."

"Macey..."  
"Look, I might be about to throw my marriage away but I'm not letting you do the same. Goodbye Zach." And with that, she tightened her hold on Isabella and walked out of the school to her car. She put Isabella in her car seat, and got into the driver's seat. Preston looked over at her.

"Macey..."

"Are we home yet?" She asked.

"No, but..."  
"Then shut up, I'll talk when we're at home." she cut him off, and he was silent.

* * *

Preston didn't speak again until they arrived home, which was 4 hours later. Isabella was fast asleep, so Macey took her through to her room and put her to bed. When she came out of Isabella's bedroom, she closed the door and looked up at Preston.

"I genuinely don't know what to say to you." she started, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Preston handed her a cup of coffee, that she received happily.

"I'd apologise again but I don't think that there's much point."  
"You're correct on that one."

"So, am I getting an answer to my question?"

"You think you deserve an answer? God, you're lucky I'm still here."

"You wouldn't leave."

"Maybe that's my problem." She retorted, causing a long silence to begin.

They stood there, in the kitchen. Neither of them said a word for at least five minutes because neither of them knew what to say. He was sorry, she knew that. But she was angry, and he knew that.

"No." Macey stated plainly, breaking the silence and confusing Preston.

"No, what?"

"No, you're not to expect the papers on your desk. You're not expecting divorce papers at all, ever."

Preston breathed a sigh of relief, but Macey wasn't finished.

"If I wasn't completely and totally against divorce, and if I wasn't completely and totally in love with you still. Then maybe I'd think more about it. But it is what it is. And I can't help that. But I need to know whether I'm throwing my life away by being with you."

"What are you saying, Macey?"

"Am _I_ going to find divorce papers on _my_ desk?"  
"Christ Macey, no. Last night was a mistake. I was drunk, and I wasn't thinking straight."  
"I know that. But this is it, okay? Your get-out-of-jail-free card, your one-way ticket. I'm handing it to you on a silver platter. You want out? Because the door is there and I'm sure that you know how to use it."

Then suddenly, without a word, Preston took a step towards Macey and kissed her. He had half expected her to pull back, or to move away from him. But as he pushed her up against the worktop and deepened the kiss, she didn't resist. He pulled back and looked her directly in the eye.

"Does that answer your question? Or do you need me to spell it out for you?"

"I think I got the message." She laughed, short of breath and still a little surprised at the impulsiveness of the moment.

"So, we're okay?"

"We're not completely okay. This marriage needs work, and a hell of a lot of it. I can't be the only one trying."  
"You're not."

"But that's what it feels like. When you're not here, when you're too busy with work or kissing my best friend..."  
"Uncalled for."

"Sorry. But my point is that we need to work through this. We're not running away, or divorcing each other, and we're not fighting anymore. I can't fight with you anymore. So we need to compromise. We'll move to Virginia, but you've gotta spend more time at home."

"We don't have to move..."  
"Compromise."  
"Thank you." He said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

"But if you _ever_ kiss Cammie , or anyone else besides me for that matter, then so help me God, I will kick your sorry ass so bad that you probably won't live long enough for me to divorce you. Which would be a shame, because if you screwed me over again then there is nothing more I would like than to see you in vast amounts of pain whilst I decide which houses I want to keep and how many hours you can see your child for. And I could do that, because of that magical thing called a prenup"  
"Has anybody ever told you that you're a little bit scary sometimes? And slightly aggressive."

"Only when I need to be, and you love me for it anyway."

"That's very true."

"Glad to hear that." She smiled.

It wasn't fully resolved, but she didn't expect it to be. But Macey felt better, because they'd agree to compromise. They were going to make this work, they had to. For everybody's sake.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hellloooo.**

 **I don't think I have anything important to say...wait, yeah I do.**

 **Just thought I should warn you about the size of the chapters as we get further into the story, because there are some hella long chapters and some hella short ones. Some are just to fill gaps, and the others are extremely dramatic. So yeah... now you know.**

 **Anyway, here is chapter 7.**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: I am not Ally Carter, and I do not own the Gallagher Girls series (etc..)**

* * *

***June 8th: Moving Day***

Roseville, Virginia.

"Is that everything?" Macey asked, looking around the living room of her new house. It was full of boxes of photographs and CD's and endless amounts of other things.

"Yep. Everything's here now. How much do we have to unpack?"

"Well the furniture is set up in the kitchen, dining room and the bedrooms. All we have to unpack is the small stuff. There are 5 boxes full of DVD's, 3 full of CD's and 6 full of photo albums. But other than that, it's just Isabella's toys."

"Clothes are done?"

"Clothes are in the closets already." Macey said, picking a teddy bear up out of the box of Isabella's toys.

"Is she asleep already?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm gonna go check." She said, running upstairs with the bear in her hands.

Just as Preston started to unpack another box, the doorbell rang. He went to the door quickly, unsure of who was on the other side of it. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the faces of Zach and Cammie.

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" He asked, surprised.

"Well we were visiting my mom and Joe, so we decided to stop by." Cammie smiled awkwardly; they hadn't spoken since Thanksgiving.

"Come in then." Preston said, opening the door fully as Cammie and Zach walked in and shutting it behind them.

"This house is huge." Zach said, looking around.

"Did you really expect Macey to settle for anything less?" Preston said, making Zach and Cammie laugh.

"Preston, who are you talking t... Hey!" Macey said, running down the stairs at the sight of her best friend. She ran over to Cammie and pulled her into a hug. "How come you're here?"

"We were visiting my mom, and you're kinda in the area now." Cammie laughed a little, pulling back from the hug.

"Zach was just commenting on the size of the house." Preston added.

"Yeah, I think you may have found the biggest one in the whole town. Well done." Zach said, smiling.

"Nice to see you too, Zach." Macey smiled back. "Did you guys want a drink or anything?" she asked.

"I''ll just have water." Cammie smiled.

"Yeah,me too." Zach added.

"Preston, do you want anything?"

"I'll have water too."

"Okay then, three bottles of water. Go sit down, I'll be with you in a minute." Macey said.

"I'll come help you." Zach said, as Preston and Cammie walked into the living room.

"You know, it's just water. I could've done it myself." Macey said.

"I know that. But the tension in that room would've been ridiculous."

"Have you and Preston spoken, you know, since Thanksgiving?" she asked, as they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, kind of. We're talking but we haven't spoken about what happened."

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Just talk to him you idiot."

"Like I was really gonna do that with Cammie in the room."

"How are things with you guys, by the way? I mean, if I ask her then she says everything's fine because it's Cammie." she said, passing him a bottle of water and taking hold of two more.

"She wants kids."

"Wow, so you're doing fine then."

"You could say that." He laughed, as they walked into the living room. Macey gave one bottle of water to Cammie, and one to Preston who was sitting on the opposite side of the room.

"Jeez, you could cut the tension in here with a knife." Macey said. "Can you guys just hug or something?" She looked at Cammie, and then at Preston.

"Zach, permission to hug your girlfriend?" Preston asked.

"Dude, you didn't need permission when you kissed her. Why are you suddenly asking now?" Zach joked.

"Zach, enough." Macey glared at him.

"Fine, you have permission." He said, looking at Preston.

"Macey, can I hug Cammie?"

"Just hug her and stop acting weirdly because it's annoying." Macey rolled her eyes.

"Oh and can I hug him back or...?" Cammie asked.

"Wait, let me hang a banner and a few balloons and we can make a _real_ event out of this." Macey said sarcastically, and then turned to face Zach. "Hold up a second." She said, pulling Zach towards her and kissing him briefly on the mouth. Cammie, Preston _and_ Zach all stood there looking rather gobsmacked.

"Hmm...Now we're even." Macey said, laughing victoriously to herself.

"Jeez Macey, you could've warned me beforehand." Zach said, still a little startled.

"And we're not exactly even, because you're not drunk." Cammie stated.

"Ahhh, but Zach still didn't kiss back."

"Not as fun, is it Mace?" Preston said, trying to make light of the weird situation.

"Yeah, what is it with you two and not kissing back?" Macey asked, still laughing a little.

"Well, way to break the tension." Cammie said, starting to laugh herself as Preston walked over to her and hugged her.

"Now will you two _please_ stop acting so awkward? Much appreciation." Macey said, sitting down.

"So, how much have you guys got left to unpack?" Cammie asked Macey.

"Just the boxes in here, and a few more in the bedroom. I wanted to get everything unpacked quickl. It's two days until Isabella's birthday, so I want the house clear for when people come round. You guys can definitely come, right?"

"Of course! We wouldn't miss it." Cammie smiled.

"What exactly do you buy for a one year old's birthday?" Zach asked.

"Anything pink. If it's pink, she won't care what it is." Preston said.

"Yes, my daughter has become _that_ child. The one who loves the colour pink." Macey rolled her eyes,and Cammie laughed.

"It's probably just a phase, she'll grow up and turn into a rebellious, defiant troublemaker just like you were."

"Don't even joke about that." Preston said, causing everyone to laugh.

They continued to talk about various topics for a while, because they hadn't sat down and talked like this since well before Thanksgiving. And it was good for all of them, they realised how much they had missed their best friends.

A little while later, Preston was showing Zach around the house leaving Macey and Cammie alone in the living room.

"Are you okay, Cam?" Macey asked, looking at Cammie who was staring off into space."Hellooo, earth to Cammie?"

"What?!" Cammie jumped, snapping out of her daydream.

"Are you alright?"

"Kind of, not really. Can I tell you something?"

"No, you absolutely cannot tell me anything and that's precisely why we've been best friends since we were 15." Macey said sarcastically.

"Funny. But seriously, if I tell you something then you've gotta promise not to tell Zach"

"Fine. What's up?"

"I think I might be pregnant, but I'm not sure."

"Have you and Zach spoken about having kids?"

"He's apprehensive about it because he doesn't want to screw up."

"I know that feeling."

"But either way, I'm not sure."

"Let me guess. You're late, you're having mood swings that make you seem like you're PMS-ing and you're really tired?"

"Pretty much."

"Yeah. I'd say there's a good chance that you're pregnant. But I'm not a doctor,or a pregnancy test."

"Crap."

"Just, take a test and talk to Zach. Okay? Don't bottle this up, don't shut yourself away. And hey, you might not even be pregnant. Just take the test, okay?"

"I'm staying at Gallagher for the next 4 days, how am I supposed to hide a pregnancy test from my mom?"

"Are you a teenager? Does it really matter if she finds out?"

"Good point."

"Well duh, it was mine."

"Oh you're sooo funny."

"I know, one of my best qualities even if I do say so myself." she laughed, as Zach and Preston walked back into the room.

"Well, it's nearly 10 o'clock. We should probably get back to Gallagher." Cammie said, standing up. "It was really nice to see you, and your mansion."

"It's not a mansion!" Macey insisted.

"It kinda is." Preston said.

"Well if you don't like it, you know where the door is." she retorted.

"Oooooh, careful Preston." Zach teased, walking out of the door.

"Bye Mace, bye Preston." Cammie called out as they closed the door.

Macey walked back into the living room and sighed at the sight of all the boxes. "So much to do still."

"Does it _really_ need doing tonight?" Preston asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I wanna get it done though." she whined. "Everywhere else is clear, and the boxes in our room are now in the spare room because I'm not clearing them yet."

"Oh so the bedroom's clear?" He asked suggestively.

"That sounded like you were implying something..."

"Me? Of course not. How _dare_ you suggest such a thing?"

"How improper of me." She laughed, spinning out of his grasp and walking towards the staircase. She looked around as she walked up the stairs and smiled a little. She had everything. The amazing house, a beautiful daughter and a marriage that was no longer falling apart. For the first time in a long while, Macey was truly happy.

"What are you smiling about?" Preston asked from the bottom of the staircase.

"The house, and Isabella, and you. I have everything I've ever wanted. Now are you coming, or do I have to drag you upstairs?" She laughed.

* * *

 **Hope that wasn't too terrible,**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Helloooo,**

 **I'm so glad the last chapter went down well, because it was another one that I was really unsure about.**

 **This chapter isn't extremely important in terms of plot development, but it is extremely cute. There's lots of talking, and it's just hella adorable.**

 **So, without further ado here is chapter 8.**

 **Enjoy x**

 **DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the series and the characters, I do not.**

* * *

***June 10th: Isabella's first birthday***

"Preston, can you get the door? I'm trying to feed Isabella." Macey called out, and Preston ran down the stairs to answer the door. He opened it to see Bex, Liz, Grant and Jonas standing there.

"Hey guys, come in." He said, opening the door fully as they walked in. As they sat down in the living room, Macey walked in with Isabella on her hip.

"Hey!" Liz said excitedly, waving at Isabella who had begun to toddle around the room.

"Oh, Cam just texted me. They're just leaving Gallagher with Rachel, Joe,Abby and Townsend. So they'll be here in like, 5 minutes." said Bex  
"Awesome." Macey smiled, sitting down next to Preston.

"Don't you find it kinda weird living in Roseville?" asked Liz.

"Sorta. Sometimes it's strange. But I like it."  
"Probably because of the size of this house." Grant added.

"Oh it's not even that big. Everybody always goes on about the size of the house." Macey rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well it may not be that big to you two. Mr and Mrs I-was-raised-in-a-mansion. But to us normal people, it's huge." Bex said.

"'Us normal people' says the spy. And I was _not_ raised in a mansion. It was just a very, very big house." Macey retorted.

"Mace...it kinda was a mansion." Preston interjected.

"You're just jealous because my house was better than yours." Macey said, and they all laughed.

A second later, the doorbell rang. "I'll go." Macey said, getting up off the sofa and walking out to the front door. She opened it, and saw Cammie, Zach and everybody else standing behind them. She smiled, and let them in. As they were walking into the living room, Macey grabbed Cammie by the arm.

"Hey! You didn't call me."

"Yeah, sorry." She said, as they walked out into the kitchen.

"Did you do the test?" Macey asked quietly.

"Yeah, this morning."  
"And?"

"Not pregnant." Cammie replied.

Macey gave it a minute before asking her. "Are you okay with that?"

"Kinda... I don't know."

"You tell Zach yet?"

"There's no need, if I'm not pregnant then I don't really have much to tell him"

"Have you told him that you want kids?"

"I don't know if I do..."

"Cammie, if that negative pregnancy test wasn't a huge relief for you, then you want kids. Trust me on that."  
"How am I supposed to bring that up in conversation?"

"Literally just blurt it out. In a silence, or even when it's loud. Just say it. Make it known."  
"Thank you for your little Carpe Diem speech."

"Anytime."

"Hey! We wondered where you two had gotten to." Bex said, walking into the kitchen with Liz trailing closely behind.

"Well you found us." Macey said, stating the obvious.

"Were you guys talking about something? Did we interrupt?" Liz asked.

"No, it's okay." Cammie said, smiling slightly and Macey shot her a did-you-tell-them look, to which Cammie shook her head slightly.

"Did you want drinks, or anything?" Macey asked.

"No, that's okay. We can't stay long anyway, plane to catch." Bex said.

"How long are you back in England for?" Liz asked

"No idea yet. When I get back to MI5, they've got a mission for me. So I have no idea how long I'll be on that, let alone back in England. But I wanna go see my parents too, before I come back here. So I'll probably be out there a while."

"Keep in contact though, yeah?" Cammie said.

"Always do Chameleon." She smiled.

"Mace" Preston said, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Ooooh Macey's in trouble." Bex taunted, and Cammie and Liz laughed jokingly.

"Sure." Macey said, looking a little concerned as she walked out of the kitchen towards Preston. "What's up, is everything okay?"

"I think Isabella's sick. She's sat down on the couch, but she's got a really bad fever."

"I'll go get her and take her upstairs, did you want to see everyone out? Just tell them that she's sick and they'll clear out pretty fast." She smiled slightly, walking into the living room and picking Isabella up. She held her close to her chest, and carried her upstairs.

As Macey was putting Isabella to bed, Preston explained to everybody how she was sick. Slowly, everyone left until only Cammie and Zach remained. "I'll meet you at the car in a minute" Zach said to Cammie who smiled and walked out of the house.

"Everything alright?" Preston asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what exactly?" Preston asked, with a worried undertone to his voice.

"It's nothing serious, it's just after today seeing how things are with you and Macey and Isabella I thought you ought to know that I'm really proud of you. I know that you never thought you'd end up like this, married to Macey and living in a very large house slash small mansion."  
"And, you're proud of me?"

"You went out to Iraq to fight in a freaking war zone, like the idiot that you are and now you're settled down with a family. And yeah... I'm proud of you."

"Awwww, Zachy-poo. Look at you getting all sentimental and stuff. So adorable."

"Don't make me regret saying that to you Winters or I'll kick your sorry senatorial ass before you can say congress."

"And now you're talking politics. What a positive influence I am on you, Goode."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell Macey I said goodbye, and I hope mini-Macey is alright too."  
"Haha, thanks."

"Bye Preston."

"Bye Zachy-poo." Preston laughed, and shut the door before he could witness Zach's reaction.

As Macey got to the bottom of the staircase, Preston was just closing the front door.

"Was everyone okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah they understood. Is Isabella alright?"

"She's gone straight to sleep, but she still has a fever."  
"She might just be overtired."  
"Maybe." Macey sighed a little, sitting down on the couch.

"Are _you_ okay? You look a little agitated." Preston asked, sitting down next to her.

"Just stuff."

"That's extremely vague. You're not giving me much to work with here."

"It's nothing, honestly." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.  
"Well it's obviously something, otherwise you wouldn't look so pissed off. So tell me, what's wrong?"

"You can't say anything to Zach, if I tell you. Cause if you do then I might kill you, and Cammie definitely will."

"Cammie wouldn't kill me."  
"Why, did you make a secret pact not to kill each other because you slept together?"

"That was unnecessary."  
"Do you want me to tell you or not? Because I'm more than happy just to keep it all to myself and..."  
"Fine! Fine! I'm sorry, now tell me."

"Promise you won't say anything?"

"Promise! I won't tell Zach, or Cammie or anyone. Now just tell me already."

"Cam thought she was pregnant. When they came over a couple of days ago, she said to me that she was gonna take a test because she had symptoms. She wasn't pregnant, it came back negative. And then she turned round and said that she felt relieved about it. But it got me thinking..."

"And, you want another baby?"

Macey nodded slowly, smiling slightly. "I know it's a bit weird, because Isabella is only a year old. But I don't want there to be too much of an age gap between the kids, and I don't want her to grow up alone."

"Do you think you could do it again though? The whole pregnancy, and the labour. It almost killed you last time Macey, and I'm not exaggerating."

"I think it's worth a try. I don't want her growing up alone, not like I did. Like _we_ did. And I think it's what we need."

"I don't know. Thing's got pretty stressful after Isabella was born. What if it happens again?"

"It was just a bad patch, Preston."

"A bad patch that almost resulted in a very,very nasty divorce, Macey. The stress that we were under, it caused a lot of problems."  
"Preston, if you don't want another kid then just say..."  
"No, Macey. I do. But I just don't want anything to go wrong. Everything is so good with us at the moment. And I don't want it to put too much strain on you. I don't want you to get ill from a pregnancy, or god forbid you have another miscarriage. We can't lose another baby, and I can't lose you."

"You won't. It'll be okay. I just have to be careful, really careful. Like last time. And chances are the labor will be easier, apparently the second time round always is. But if you don't want another baby then it's okay, I just..."  
"Okay."  
"Okay?"

"Yes. Okay. We'll try for another baby."

"Seriously?! You're being serious, you're not messing about with me?"

"You know I never thought that _you_ would get excited about having kids." Preston laughed to himself a little.

"I never thought that you would want kids either."

"I've always been good with kids though."  
"Yeah I suppose, you always did like kissing babies."

* * *

 **Nawww, they so cute.**

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hola.**

 **I carefully planned this so that I would update today, because it's July 31st.**

 **Yay for that.**

 **It took literally everything in me not to update before now bc I really wanted to, but I felt like I should wait (bc why not?)**

 **Anyway, here is chapter 9 (aka the shortest chapter yet, and one of the least important BUT YOU STILL GOTTA READ IT.)**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***July 31st***

It was 6:30AM. Macey had been awake for just over half an hour, and now she couldn't get back to sleep. She had been restless all night, so when Isabella woke up crying at 6AM Macey was almost thankful. She had gone into Isabella's room to settle her, which had taken much longer than Macey had anticipated. Now, she was the only one awake and she had nothing to do. So she did what she usually did when she had nothing else to do, she called Cammie.

"Hey, sorry did I wake you?" Macey asked Cammie through the phone.

"I would say no, but I'd be lying and seeing as it's 6:30AM I can't be bothered." She answered sleepily.

"I would say sorry..."

"But you're not. Which means there's an important reason for you calling at this ridiculous time of the morning. Why are you even awake anyway?" She questioned.

"Isabella had me up, and I had to do something."

"At 6AM?"

"Yes, at 6AM."

"Okay then... Anyway,why exactly have you woken me from my very comfortable sleep?"

"I've got some news."

"That'd sound a lot more exciting if I was properly awake."  
"Well go get some coffee or something."

"Mace, you know I hate coffee."

"Well drink some on behalf of me then."  
"Why can't you drink your own coffee? Are you sick or something?"

"Nope." Macey said, popping the P for emphasis.

"Well what is it then?" Cammie asked, not even remotely in the mood for guessing games at such a ridiculous time of the morning.

"Come on Cam. I can't drink coffee and I had to check something at 6AM. If it helps, I have a list as long as my arm of things that I can't...well, shouldn't eat and..."  
"Oh my god, are you? Again? Macey!"  
"I don't quite understand what you're assuming...Please elaborate."  
"You're pregnant?!"

"I better be. I took at least 7 different tests, that all say positive."

"Have you told Preston yet?"

"Do you really think he's awake at 6:30AM?"

"Good point. Are you _gonna_ tell him?"

"He should be expecting it. We kinda planned this."

"And you didn't tell me? These are the kind of things that you tell me, Macey!"

"We decided not to say anything until I had a positive test. And I'm only 6 weeks along, so it's still really early days."  
"I'm so happy for you! Are you feeling okay about it all though?"

"I'm gonna take every day as it comes. And if history repeats itself again then so be it. But I'm feeling pretty good about it at the moment."

"That's great Mace. I really am happy for you. After all of the crap you and Preston have been through..."

"Things are finally looking up..." Macey finished the sentence, and as she had said it she heard Preston coming down the stairs quickly. "Cam, I've gotta go. I'll call you later."

"You gonna tell him?"

"I think he may have already worked it out."

"Go then!"  
Macey laughed "Bye Cammie." She said, ending the call and placing her phone in the pocket of her cardigan.

"Hey." Macey said, as Preston walked over to the couch where Macey was sitting. He sat down next to her and she turned to face him so they that could talk, because it was obvious that Preston had something to say.

"Hey..."  
"Why do you look like you're gonna say something?"

"Because I don't know whether to phrase it as a question or a statement."  
"Well I can't answer a statement."  
"Are you pregnant?"

"I am indeed."

"And you're happy?"

"I am. And I'm not scared. I have an amazing support system that includes my amazing husband. It'll be okay. I really think it's all going to go alright this time. I don't know if it's because of how easily everything went with having Isabella, or just because we're in a better place."

"I think that helps things. Last time it was all so rushed. Everything happened so quickly and..."

"And I was terrified. After the first couple of times, I honestly thought that I'd never be able to have kids. But I really think that everything will work out. We can do this, I know we can."

"Wow, you really are happy."

"Well everything's perfect. How could I not be?"

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm about to gain a few enemies...**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

It happened on December 21st. It was a Thursday. Nobody had expected it, for it couldn't be expected. But within 30 minutes of it happening, the whole country knew. The press flocked to the scene like moth to a flame, and the story broke almost as quickly as the event itself had happened.

When the news broke at dawn, you could almost hear the American people's hearts breaking. For themselves and for everyone else involved. Nobody knew what to say, except the media.

 _"Senator Winters killed in mass shooting in Richmond, Virginia."_

 _"Senator shot dead by masked gunman in Virginia."_  
The headlines were all pretty much the same. But they only told a portion of the story. The American people only knew a fraction of what had happened, but other people knew it all.

* * *

"Why exactly are you going into Richmond anyway?" Macey asked, straightening Preston's tie.

"Macey. It's four days before Christmas, and you're asking me why I'm going out into the city. Really?"

"You mean to tell me you haven't bought my present yet?"

"If I'd already bought it, you would have found it. It's one of the drawbacks of having a spy for a wife."  
"Oh so there are drawbacks?"

"A few." He laughed, grabbing his keys off of the coffee table and opening the door. "I won't be long."

"The longer you are, the more thought you've put into my present."

"Then I'll probably be there until I die." He laughed, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Macey's phone began to ring. It was Cammie.

"Hey Cam"  
"Hey Mace, you busy today?"

"No, not really. Preston's out for the day and Isabella's at a friend's house so I'm at home by myself."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes, good. I need to go shopping, because otherwise Zach isn't going to have a Christmas present. So you're coming with me."  
"Ugh, do I _have_ to?"

"Macey, are you refusing a shopping opportunity?"

"Well I wouldn't usually, but I'm feeling very pregnant today."

"Well if you stay at home, then you'll feel very bored. Come on, I need an expert opinion on what to buy him."

"Fine, if you insist."  
"I do, now you better get ready, I'll be round in 5 minutes."

"Cool, see you then." Macey said, and then ended the call.

Exactly 5 minutes later, Cammie's car pulled up outside the house. Macey walked outside and got into the car.

"Hey." Macey smiled

"Hey, you seem happier than when I spoke to you."  
"Well, now I don't have to do nothing all day."  
"Ah, so this is kind of like a mission."

"Don't even say that word. It reminds me of work, which is somewhere that I'd really like to be right now but..."  
"But you're Macey, and you're pregnant so the Secret Service won't let you go back until after the baby is born, right?"

"Precisely. And it's really annoying."

"But it's for your own safety, and for the baby's."

"Yes, that may be so. But it might not be the same case for many innocent Americans."

"Ew, patriotic Macey is my least favourite kind of Macey."  
"How about bitchy-because-of-hormones Macey?"

"Now that sounds like a Macey I could work with."  
"Good, because you're stuck with her for the rest of the day. Now, where are we going exactly?"

"I was thinking we'd just head straight into the city."  
"Fine, but we've gotta avoid all major jewellery stores."  
"Why?"

"Preston is shopping. For my Christmas present."  
"Well good luck to him." Cammie laughed.

For the rest of the journey, Cammie and Macey talked about various things. It had been just over 4 months since they'd last seen each other so they had a lot to catch up on. Most of Macey's stories were about Isabella, or Preston and most of Cammie's stories were about work. They both spoke about the contact that they'd had with Bex and Liz.

"We should all spend New Years together again, we haven't done that for years." Cammie suggested.

"Not that I can drink like I used to."

"Maybe that's not a bad thing." She laughed.

"But seriously, it sounds like a good idea. We haven't done anything all together since last year."

"I know, it's scary to be honest. At one point, I felt like we were just going to grow apart and lose contact."  
"I don't think that could ever happen to us. Our lives are too connected now, there's no escaping each other." Macey laughed.

Soon enough, they arrived in the city centre and began shopping. As they were walking down the street, Macey noticed something that made alarm bells ring in her head.

"Cam." Macey said, in a hushed voice.

"What is it Macey?"

"You see that guy there, with the grey hoodie and his hands in his pockets?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me, or does he look kinda suspicious?"

"Kinda." Cammie replied in a tone of voice that told Macey that she was probably overreacting again.

So Macey dismissed what she had suspected, and they continued to walk around for a while. It hadn't been long since they'd first spotted him that they saw the same man again, this time he was standing outside Tiffany's. The man looked up at the building, placed his hand in his pocket and walked inside.

"Cam, I'm serious now. That guy..."

"Was probably nobody. Stop stressing."

"Cammie, he just walked into Tiffany's with something in his pocket."

"When you say something..."  
"It looked like a gun."

"Macey, are you sure? Or is this just..."  
"Just me overreacting? No, I swear..."

 _And then a shot rang out._

"Shit" Cammie cursed.

"What do we do?"

 _A second gunshot rang out._

"We let the cops handle it, Macey. I'm CIA, I can't get involved. I can't be seen here."

"It'll take forever for the cops to get here, by the time they arrive the whole city could be dead."

"We can't just burst in there."  
"You mean _you_ can't just burst in there."  
"Macey, you're 5 months pregnant, you can't throw yourself in front of bullets."

"It's my job, Cammie!"

 _Another gunshot._

"Not now it isn't, not today."  
"Look, we're not arguing about this."

 _And another._

"You're right, we're not. Because you're not going in. I can't let you go in."

"You're not gonna stop me though, because you can't be in there." Macey said, dropping her shopping bags at Cammie's feet and running across the road and into the building.

By the time she had gotten inside, Macey had lost count of how many gunshots she had heard. The building was silent, and bodies lay on the floor like fallen dominoes. She couldn't see the gunman, and it made her anxious. As she walked around the corner, she saw a man crouching behind a cabinet. They caught sight of each other at the same time, and he stood up to face her.

"Macey?"

"Preston?"

"You have to get out of here"

"So do you!"

This time the shot was much louder. Much closer. As it rang out, they both looked at each other to check if they'd been hit. But the bullet had just been a warning, as the gunman entered the room.

"Two bullets left." The man said. "How convenient. But which one to shoot first." He laughed to himself. Except it wasn't a laugh, but more of a deranged cackle.

"Macey, go." Preston ordered.

"I'm not leaving." She said, stepping closer to him.

"Macey, for God's sake. I'm not playing games here. Get the hell out, right now." He was scared. Macey could tell from the way that his voice was trembling. It was a sound that she hadn't heard in a long time.

"I'm not leaving." She repeated, standing her ground.

"Why'd you always have to save everyone else, huh? Why can't you just save yourself for once?"  
"Because he's only going to shoot one of us first, and we both know which one of us it should be. Now, why don't _you_ leave?"

"Damn it Macey."

What happened next was a blur for Macey. She had turned her head for a second, just a second, and the gunman had pulled the trigger. The bullet hurtled towards Preston at full speed, and hit him directly in the head , he dropped to the floor. If it wasn't for her screams, Macey would've heard the gunman blast the final bullet through his own brain, but she was crying too loud to hear anything else. As Preston dropped to the floor, Macey fell with him. She pulled her jacket off and used it to stop the blood flowing out of his head. He was still slightly conscious when she did this.

"Mace..."

"Don't talk Preston."  
"You'll be okay..."

"Don't..."

"I have to..."

"No, don't you dare give me the I'm-gonna-die can't die on me. I need you."  
"You don't. You'll be okay."

"I...I love you." And as his eyes shut, her tears continued to fall.

Macey didn't stop crying until much later in the day. She had called Cammie, who had gone back to Roseville and picked Isabella up from her friends. Everyone was back at Gallagher now, anxiously waiting for another call from Macey. But Macey was never going to be ready to make that call.

She had left it until 10pm to call them. All she said was "Get to the hospital" and then she cut off. When everyone arrived at the hospital, Macey was sitting in the waiting room by herself. Her hands were still covered in Preston's blood, as was the jacket that she held tightly. Cammie came to her side.

"Macey..."

"No news." Macey said, her eyes fixed on the floor.

"We left Isabella with Mom and Joe. She was asleep, and we didn't want to wake her. They said they'd stay with her."

Macey just nodded slightly. Cammie didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to say. She looked over at Bex and Liz, who just shook their head.

"Macey." Abby said, sitting down in the seat next to her. Macey lifted her head a little, but didn't make eye contact with Abby. "Have you eaten, or at least had a drink?"

Macey shook her head.

"Did you want to go get something?"

"The doctors. They might come out."

"We'll go then." Cammie said. "We'll all go and get something, and that'll give you some space." She smiled slightly as she walked off with Bex,Grant,Zach,Jonas and Liz. Townsend stayed behind, and sat on the chair next to Abby.

"He's not going to survive this." Macey stated.

"You don't know that." Abby replied.

"Yes I do. After I got shot, I knew that I'd be okay. But he won't be okay."  
"He might be. People have been known to survive gunshot wounds to the head before." Townsend added.

"It's my fault." Macey whispered, but Abby heard it and it caught her attention.

"Don't you dare..."  
"But it is. I was in the building with him, I had time to jump in front of the bullet."

"He would never have forgiven you for that."

"He'll never be able to forgive me now. I did this to him."

"No you didn't. I know that you're upset, but I'm still willing to kick your ass if you don't stop with this self-deprecation."

Macey just looked up at Abby, then at Townsend and sighed deeply.

"You're tired." Abby stated.

"No, I'm not."

"Macey, close your eyes."  
"I can't sleep now."

"Yes you can."

And then Macey didn't protest anymore. She closed her eyes, and her head rested on Abby's shoulder. She could've only been asleep for half an hour when a surgeon walked towards them all, asking for Macey.

"Macey..." Abby called out, waking Macey gently.

"Yeah?" She asked, blinking to open her eyes.

"The doctor's are out, they want to talk to you."

Macey got up out of the chair, and walked to one side with the surgeon.

"Mrs Winters, I'm so sorry."  
"He's dead, isn't he?"

"We did everything we could. But your husband is brain-dead. We have him on life support, so you and your family can say goodbye. I'm sorry for your loss." The surgeon finished what she was saying, and left Macey alone. As she walked back towards them, everyone looked up at her.

"Macey, what did they say?" Zach asked. But she just stood there.

"Mace?" Liz tried to get her to talk. But nothing.

"Macey just say something...anything" Cammie said, but still Macey stood there in silence. Then all of a sudden, she ran into the bathroom. She stood in front of the sink, coughing and crying. At first she stood up, holding onto the side but her legs went weak and she couldn't stand any longer so she fell to the ground in a heap of tears.

Then one by one, Cammie, Bex, and Liz came in. They sat down next to Macey and hugged her until she had stopped crying. It had taken nearly 25 minutes, but Macey finally stood up and walked out of the bathroom with Cammie, Bex and Liz by her side. As they walked out, the others looked up. Macey stood up in front of everybody and cleared her throat.

"He's brain-dead, but still on life support. We can say goodbye, but then we have to switch the machine off." She breathed, sitting back down in the chair.

Slowly, one by one, each person went in to say goodbye to Preston. Afterwards, most of them went home until only Macey, Cammie, Zach,Townsend and Abby were left in the waiting room. Cammie and Abby had gone to get drinks and Townsend was in the bathroom.

Macey sat there in silence and looked over at Zach.

"Why haven't you gone in yet?" She asked quietly, her throat dry from all the crying.

"I can't yet. I can't say goodbye to him yet."

"I know." She looked at him sympathetically for a moment, but then she realised that that was the way that everybody had been looking at her for the past few hours and decided to stop it. "And I'm going to have to deal with a crapload of reporters."

"Not yet you don't."  
"I can't avoid them forever."

"You can avoid them for now."

"I'm sorry, Zach."

"Why?"

"I didn't save him, and I could've."

"You saved yourself. That's good enough for any of us."

"You mean that?"

"I do. And besides, if you had saved Preston then he'd never forgive you. He would've blamed himself for the rest of eternity, but he would've been angry at you too."

"I don't know how I'm going to do this. I can't raise two kids without him."

"You've got the rest of us. It'll be alright Macey."

"You don't know that."

"That's true. But it's what people say, so surely if they say it there must be some truth to it, right?"

"I'd like to believe so."

"So would I, Mace, so would I."

* * *

An hour later, only Macey and Abby remained in the waiting room. Cammie, Zach and Townsend were outside getting some air.

"Everyone's been in to see him, right?"

"Everyone but you." Abby replied.

"I should go, tell them to switch it all off."

"You need to say goodbye, Macey."  
"I can't."

"I can go, if you need me to."

"No, it's okay."

"I'll wait out here, come get us all when you're ready."  
"Okay." Macey said, getting up out of the chair and walking into the side room where Preston was laying on life support. She walked over to the bed, and sat on the edge.

"I don't really know what to say to you to be honest. I don't even know if you can hear me, but I hope you can. I think you can anyway. You told me that I'd be okay without you, that I don't need you. And for once, I really hope you're right. Because if I need you as much as I think, and as much as I've thought for my whole life, then I'm going to be completely lost. Since I believe that you can hear me, I need to tell you how hard this is for me. In a few minutes, I have to go out there and tell the nurses to switch your life support machine off. I have to tell them to stop you from staying alive. I don't know how I'm going to do it, or where I'm going to find the strength to do it from. But you said I'd be okay. And I trust you. I trust that you said I'll be okay, knowing what I'm capable of. The thing is, it's not exactly fair to force you to stay. Your body has pretty much shut down, and it wants to go. So I'm letting you go, once and for all this time and with the knowledge that I can never get you back. I'm sorry I couldn't save you, and I'm sorry you wouldn't have let me. And I love you, but you know that. You always did." Macey sighed, as tears began to roll down her cheeks once again.

She walked out of the room, and saw Cammie, Zach, Abby and Townsend still sitting in the waiting room.

"Macey?" Cammie said, looking up at her.

"Help me let him go. All of you, please." She pleaded, tears running down her cheeks faster and faster.

Cammie and Zach walked into the room hand in hand, as did Abby and Townsend. Abby wrapped her arm around Macey's shoulder and Cammie grabbed hold of her hand. They stood and watched as the machine was switched off, and they let Preston go. For good.

* * *

"It has been confirmed that Senator Preston Winters was shot dead in Richmond, Virginia today at 12:46pm. The attack was unplanned, and 11 other people were killed. The gunman has not yet been identified, but it has also been confirmed that he shot himself through the head after carrying out the attack. Preston's wife, Macey is to make an official speech on the matter momentarily." The reporter said as Macey began to walk out of the hospital entrance. Cammie stopped her just a second before she walked outside.

"You want me to come with you?" She asked.

"Thanks, but I think I better do this one alone." Macey smiled slightly as she walked out and stood in front of hundreds of other press reporters. She cleared her throat, and started to speak.

"As I stand here tonight outside this hospital, I have very little to say. You'll have to excuse my brevity, but I am exhausted and overwhelmed by the whole situation. My husband was killed today, by an unknown man for an unknown reason. I ask one thing of the media and the rest of the American people, and that is to give myself, my family and my friends the time and space that we need to grieve. I have a one year old daughter, who I have to go home to and explain how her father is never coming back. I have a mother in-law, who has lost her only son. And then there is myself. As of today, my whole world has crumbled into pieces that I don't know how to fix. So please, give us time. Thank you."

For the first time in Macey's life, she saw the press reporters put down their cameras. They stopped taking pictures for a moment, and they let her breathe. She smiled again briefly, then turned away from everyone and walked back into the hospital.

She was _was_ okay. She was putting one foot in front of the other, she was walking, she was then she felt disorientated, and dizzy. The room was spinning, and her ears were ringing. She could see Cammie and Zach calling something out to her, but she couldn't make sense of what the words were. She couldn't make sense of anything. Then she fell to the floor, and everything faded from grey to black.

* * *

 **...Thank you for reading :) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hate to break it to you, it was not a dream.**

 **BUT BEFORE YOU START A LYNCH MOB AND KILL ME, there is good reason for what happened.**

 **Just read on. (Or ditch the story completely bc I'm _that_ horrible person that kills off people.) Your choice.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

When Macey woke up, she was in a small room with the curtains drawn shut and the sunlight seeping in through the cracks in them. The last thing that she remembered was making her speech to the press. Other than that, everything was blank. She sat up immediately, and saw Cammie asleep in the chair in the corner. As Macey looked up, Zach came to the doorway of the room.

"Hey, you're awake."

"So I am. You guys didn't have to stay here, you could've gone home."

"Cam wouldn't leave you. Abby stayed too, she went to get coffee."  
"And Townsend?"

"Abby sent him home, he was getting grouchy because he was tired."  
"Fair enough."  
"Are you okay? It was a pretty nasty fall."

"What even happened? I don't really remember."

"We didn't see much, but you came back inside after the speech and then you just fainted."

"Did they check the baby? Is everything okay?"

"The baby's fine. They said everything was normal, and that you probably just fainted from stress and exhaustion."  
"Zach, are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't try and pretend that you're okay. I can see straight through it, because I'm doing the same thing"

"I think I liked it better when you were asleep." Zach sighed.

"Only because nobody else will ask you the questions that you need to answer."

"Macey, we're both too tired and emotional to be playing mind games."

"This isn't a mind game. I was asking you if you're okay, and you didn't give me an honest answer."

"Here's your honest answer then. No, I'm not alright because your husband, who also happened to be my best friend and one of the only people that I've ever been able to trust in the history of forever, was shot dead by a crazy gunman yesterday. Happy now?"

"Far from it." Macey snapped. The conversation had turned bitter, and she couldn't help but blame that fact on herself. As Macey turned away from Zach, Cammie began to wake up in the chair.

"Mace, you're awake!" Cammie exclaimed.

"As are you." Macey stated plainly.

"Are you okay? I mean, you're obviously not but..."  
"I'm fine, Cam. Thanks."  
"Why do I feel like I've missed something?"

"You have, Zach's pissed off at me."  
"I'm not pissed off."

"Yes you are." Cammie and Macey said simultaneously.

"Whatever." Zach said, turning around and walking out of the room.

"I asked him if he was okay. Which was clearly a bad idea."

"I don't think any of us are okay, Macey."

"Some of us are gonna have to be, aren't we?" Macey said, getting up out of the bed and picking her handbag up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna find Abby and get her to drive me back to Gallagher. I have to get back for Isabella."

"I should go find Zach, so we can get back too."

"Well then I guess I'll see you there then." Macey said, trying to force a smile but barely managing and walking out of the hospital room. As she walked out, she came face to face with Abby.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be awake yet."

"Believe me, I would go back to sleep if I could. But no, I have to go back to Gallagher and tell my one year old daughter that her father is dead. Lucky me. Any chance you could give me a ride, things are kinda awkward with Me, Cam and Zach at the moment."

"Sure, but do I even want to know?"

"It's a long story, that starts and ends with me causing problems."

"So the answer to my question is no, I don't wanna know. Did you wanna leave now?"

"If that's okay. I just wanna get the hell out of this hospital and hopefully never have to come back."

"Sounds like a plan. My car's parked at the back entrance, come on." She said and they turned and walked out of the hospital.

To begin with, both Abby and Macey were silent. But Macey had been staring out of the window most of the time, and Abby knew that her silence held a deeper meaning.

"Are you alright? After fainting, I mean."  
"Yeah, I'm fine. The baby is fine too, according to the doctors. But then again, the baby is gonna have to grow up without a father so whether it'll actually be fine or not is another story."

"I didn't expect you to answer to be talking to be honest. I thought you would've shut yourself away in a complete little bubble of silence like you normally do when something gets difficult."

"This isn't difficult, Abby. It's pretty simple really. My husband is dead, because I didn't save him."  
"Hey, I told you yesterday to stop that or I'll kick your ass."

"You don't get it, Abby. It was my job."  
"Oh believe me, Macey I get it. It was my job too, or don't you remember what happened in your junior year?"

"Of course I remember, Abby. How could I forget? But think, if it had been you and Townsend..."

"Then he would've told me to get the hell out of there, just like Preston told you. And I would've stayed, and tried to convince him to let me take the bullet, like you did. But if I had jumped in front of a bullet to save Edward Townsend then he would never have forgiven me, especially if I died. What you're going through right now, Preston would've gone through it too but almost ten times worse. Because if you think about it, which one of you truly couldn't live without the other? Preston Winters could not have let you take that bullet for him, even if he tried. So stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't control, Macey."

Macey just sat there for a moment, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Abby hadn't meant to make her cry, but she was glad that Macey had broken down in front of her and not the others, because she knew that they were all too fragile to try and console her at the had lost people before, maybe not in the same way that Macey had, but she knew what she was going through all the same. Macey could've sat there and cried forever, but she wiped the tears from her porcelain cheeks and looked over at Abby.

"Change of plan." Macey stated.

"Change of plan?"

"I need you to take me to the airport."  
"The airport? Why?"  
"I need to get to DC. Please, Abby. Don't ask questions."

"Wherever you're going, I'm coming with you. To make sure you don't do anything stupid." She said, turning the car around and heading towards the airport.

* * *

The trip to Washington DC felt like a lifetime to Macey. But when she walked out of the airport with Abby at her side, she was ready to do what she had come back for.

"So, what exactly are we doing here then?" Abby said, as they got into a taxi.

"You'll see." Macey replied, showing the driver a piece of paper with an address on.

It took them less than 10 minutes to get to where Macey needed to be, and before they had even approached the building Abby had realised what she was doing.

"Macey, what are you doing?" Abby asked cautiously as they approached the Secret Service HQ.

"I think you've already worked that out." Macey replied, getting out of the taxi with Abby following closely behind her.

"Don't you think that you're making a bit of a rash decision here?" Abby asked as they walked into the building.

"No, or I wouldn't be here." Macey said, approaching the front desk. "I need to speak with the Director of the Secret Service immediately." she said to the receptionist.

"I believe he is in a meeting, Miss. Is there nobody else whom you could speak with?"

"No, there isn't. If you call him, and tell him that Macey McHenry is here to see him, I'm sure he'll be able to spare a few minutes. Please tell him it's urgent." She coughed slightly to clear her throat, it had been a while since she had referred to herself as 'Macey McHenry' as she hadn't been at work for so long. It all felt so strange to her.

"Macey, I don't think it's the best idea to just waltz in here and demand to speak to the Director. There are better ways of doing this, like maybe you should wait a few weeks."

"Ms McHenry," The receptionist interrupted "The Director ordered that you go up and see him at once."

"Thank you." Macey replied. "Are you coming, Abby?" She asked, walking to the elevator with Abby following once again.

The elevator ride up to the top floor was quick, but it was still a little tense. Macey could tell that Abby thought she was making the wrong decision, but she didn't know what else to do. How could she work for the Secret Service whilst trying to raise 2 kids by herself? It wasn't practical, and it wasn't right. Macey McHenry was a Secret Service Agent, Macey Winters was the widow of Senator Preston Winters, and the mother of their two children. She was not a Secret Service Agent, and no matter what she wanted she didn't think that she could ever be Macey McHenry again.

When the doors to the elevator opened, Macey and Abby stepped out and walked straight up to the door of the Director's office. Macey knocked on the door, and then walked in with Abby trailing behind her.

"Agent McHenry, first of all my condolences on the loss of your husband. His passing truly is tragic news to us all."

"It wasn't 'his passing', I watched them switch off the machine. He was declared brain-dead after being shot. I was there, I saw it. And I didn't stop it."

"Macey..." Abby began to interrupt but Macey stopped her.

"That's why I'm here."

"I'm not following." The Director stated.

"Consider this my verbal resignation. I'm no use to the US Secret Service if I cannot do my job properly. Also, I'm now going to be faced with the challenge of raising two children on my own so it isn't exactly practical, is it?"  
"I suppose not, but Agent McHenry..."

"Sorry to spring this on you Director, but I figured I should do it sooner rather than later. If you'd prefer, I can send you a written letter of resignation as well. Thank you for your time." Macey said, leaving no time for anybody else to make suggestions or to try and talk her out of her decision and walking out of the door.

She walked out into the hall, expecting Abby to follow her as quickly as she had been all day, but she didn't. So Macey sat down on the floor and put her head in her hands. Whether she had made a mistake or not, it didn't matter now. She had no husband, and now no job. And Macey sat there, wondering if she would soon reach the point where she had nothing left at all.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: You're probably gonna hate me for this. Enough said.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***ONE WEEK LATER (December 29th): The Funeral***

When Macey woke up at 10am that morning, she wasn't really sure what she felt. There were a mix of emotions rushing through her mind and body, but she couldn't really feel anything. She knew that she wasn't ready to do this, how could she bury the only man she had ever truly loved? She lay in the bed of her apartment in Washington DC, staring up at the ceiling.

 _I don't have to do this._ Her mind kept telling her.

 _Maybe I could just stay in bed today, and forget what I'm supposed to do._

 _If I don't turn up, they won't go through with it._

 _So maybe I should stay here._

 _But I can't._

 _He wouldn't want me to._

 _So I have to go, I have to say goodbye._

She wouldn't let her crazy thoughts win today, she couldn't let her mind talk her into not going. So she sighed deeply, and got up out of the bed. Isabella had slept in the bed with Macey, and was still lying there fast asleep. Macey decided to get herself dressed and ready before waking Isabella up, so she did.

It took her half an hour to get completely ready. Her jet black hair was in loose curls that flowed down over her shoulders and her makeup was so natural that you could barely notice it. Her black dress was plain and knee-length, but as always, it made her look stunning. Once she was ready, she gently woke Isabella up. It didn't take long to get her ready either, and by 11am they were walking out of the door.

* * *

The funeral was set to begin at 12:00pm. Macey and Isabella arrived at the church at 11:35. Although the service was taking place outside, they were meeting in the church but there were a few people who were already seated outside. Macey looked around as saw many people, from family and close friends to old family friends that she had known since she was tiny. As they walked into the church, Macey's mother and father came towards them.

"Don't ask me how I am." Macey said, before either of them even spoke. She knew that this was probably one of the only days that she could try and tolerate them.

"We weren't going to honey.." Her mother replied, being oddly sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, I just can't really..."  
"It's fine, Macey. You don't have to say anything." Her father reassured.

"Well, not until they call me up to read my eulogy. Then I do have to say something. Could you possibly look after Isabella for me, I've gotta find Cammie and Zach."

Her parents nodded, and took Isabella off outside with them after giving Macey yet another commiserative smile. Macey sighed a little, and turned around to find Cammie and Zach, who happened to be just walking in.

"Hey." Macey breathed, standing in front of two of her best friends.

"We would've been here sooner, but there was a load of traffic." Cammie said, carefully avoiding asking how Macey was because she already knew the answer.

"It's fine, are you guys still okay to read eulogies?"

"Of course." Cammie said, speaking on behalf of both herself and Zach, who was staring off into space.

"I better go get our seats." Cammie said, walking off towards the front of the church.

"Zach?" Macey said, trying to get him to return to earth again.

"Sorry.." He replied quietly.

"You don't have to do this, you don't have to make a speech. It's okay."

"I do have to do it Macey. I owe it to him, to Cam and to you."

"Preston wouldn't have wanted you to do something that you didn't want to."

"He would want me to do whatever was in your best interests. I can't let you do this by yourself."

"I don't want to do this anymore than you do."

"That's why we have to get through this together, all of us. Now go and take your seat at the front outside, I need a minute."

"Zach..."  
"Go, Macey. It's what he would've wanted." And with that, Macey turned around and walked out towards the rest of the crowd.

* * *

A chill ran down Macey's spine as they stood there. The priest was speaking, but not many people were paying attention. Before she knew it, Macey was being called up to speak.

She stood up in front of the casket, and looked at all of the people who surrounded her. Her mother and father, and Preston's mother. Her best friends, who were practically her family. Her little daughter, who had very little clue as to what was going on. Everybody had the same expression on their faces; sympathy.

She coughed slightly to clear her throat, and then began to speak.

"Usually, I'd be good at this sort of thing. I was taught how to deliver a speech from a very young age so I could normally do this. But standing here today, I am at a loss. My husband, the only man I have ever loved, is dead and I am at a loss. Because he's dead, he's gone. And I've forgotten how to function. Preston Winters was many things. He was a father, a husband, a son. And he was a friend. In that room full of people who you didn't want to know, or talk to, he was a friendly face. Everything that he did, or tried to do was to benefit somebody else. He didn't have a selfish bone in his body. He was honest, and kind and selfless. He was every part my opposite, and I loved him for it.

I have to stand here and tell you all how wonderful he was, but you already know that. The whole country knows that. I'm supposed to tell you how much I loved him, but there aren't words to describe that to you. I don't remember a time when Preston wasn't part of my life. He may not have always been a big part of it, but he was definitely there. But not anymore. Not now. He's not here, he's gone. And maybe that was God's plan, maybe he's better off now. Maybe I'm not, and everybody else is not. But he is.

I think that that's okay, but even if it isn't I suppose it has to be. We don't really have a say in the matter. Well, not anymore. "

She stopped there, she had nothing else to say. Some people were crying, some looked lost. Macey walked back to her seat slowly, as Cammie got up to make her speech.

Like Macey, she stood there for a moment in order to compose herself. "I can't believe I have to do this" She muttered. Well, she thought that she had muttered it but it was clearly audible as she began to receive sad looks from people.

"Oh, did I say that too loudly? Sorry..." She giggled to herself a little. Her head was in a different place, but nobody seemed to notice "I've never had to speak at a funeral before, as you might have guessed. I was always kinda grateful for that. You see, when my Dad died, I was too young to get up and say stuff about him. I wish that was the case this time, but clearly not. I'm trying to understand why I'm standing here having to help bury one of my best friends. It's not right, is it? It's crazy. So crazy."

Cammie stood there, obviously trying to think of what to say. But instead she just began to laugh to herself again. Some of the people must've thought she was going insane, but her best friends had seen this kind of unexpected and unusual reaction before. So Bex stood up, walked towards Cammie and convinced her to sit back down.

Zach was the last person to be called up to read his eulogy. As he got up, Macey thought for a second that he might just run the other way. It wouldn't have surprised her, and she probably would've followed.

He cleared his throat, and then began to read. "I was supposed to prepare a speech. A eulogy for one of my best friends. No, my best friend. I had a week to prepare this speech, but a week wasn't enough time. I think this is a bit like Preston's life really. 31 years was not enough time. He still had so much to do, so much to see. But he can't now. He's gone.

Zach looked out towards everybody, and then looked down at the coffin.

"You can't be dead. It's not right. I don't believe that this is happening. Macey and Isabella. Me and Cammie. All of us. We need you Preston, you can't be dead!"

He was shouting at first, but it turned to screaming. He had to stop talking, because he couldn't breathe through the tears.

"You just can't be dead!" He shrieked, his voice cracking as he fell into a heap on the floor. "This isn't right! We shouldn't be here! Preston..." he stopped speaking altogether and resorted to just crying. Cammie rushed to his side, and tried to help him up off of the ground but he shook his head and pushed her away. She stood by his side, with Macey next to her as Townsend walked over to Zach.

"Come on." Townsend said, holding his hand out towards Zach. Zach looked up at him, and after a brief minute of contemplation he took hold of his father's hand. As soon as he had both feet on the ground again, Townsend pulled him into a hug and Zach just burst into tears once again.

Townsend, Zach, Cammie and Macey stood together as the casket was lowered into the ground. Isabella ran to Macey's side, and clutched onto her as if she would never let go.

Each person took a handful of dirt and threw it onto the casket that lay in the cold, damp ground. As the service drew to a close, the only people left by the casket were Macey, Isabella, Cammie, Bex,Liz,Zach,Townsend and Abby. As Townsend tried to console Zach, Abby sat with Isabella. Cammie was standing with Bex and Liz when they realised that Macey had wandered off.

"Where did she go?" Liz asked, as if Cammie and Bex would actually know.

"Should we go find her?" Bex said, replying to Liz's question with yet another question.

"She's over there." Cammie said, pointing to a gravestone hidden behind a tree at the back of the churchyard.

Macey was sat by the gravestone, and it looked like she was talking. So Cammie, Bex and Liz walked over to her.

"Hey Mace." Bex half-smiled, she never knew what to say in these situations.

"Oh. Hi."

"You wandered off, we were worried." Liz added as Macey quickly got up and began to walk away from the gravestone.

"Sorry." She muttered quietly.

When Bex and Liz began to walk ahead a little, Cammie stopped Macey.

"Mace, whose gravestone was that? You were talking..."

"They never got the body back, but Preston felt terrible that he had nothing to remember him by. So he agreed with his mom that they'd get a headstone." Macey explained, pointing to the gravestone that read 'Samuel P Winters'.

"He never said..." Cammie started.

"How could he have told you that there was a new headstone for a man who wanted you dead? He didn't want to hurt you,so we agreed to keep it quiet."

"Oh." Cammie said, smiling slightly and then walking to Zach's side once again.

They all came together and stood around the hole in the ground where the casket lay still. Each of them took a small handful of dirt and at the same time, threw it onto the top of the casket.

Macey sighed deeply, and everyone seemed to hear it. Bex and Liz came to her side.

"Could you guys do me a favour?" She asked.

"Anything you need, Mace." Bex said

"Take Isabella home for me? Take my keys and go back to my apartment. I should be home soon, but just for a while..."

"Of course." Liz said, picking Isabella up as Bex took Macey's keys.

"Thank you" Macey said, watching as Liz and Bex walked away with Isabella.

She turned back around, and saw Zach sitting next to a tree by himself. Macey walked over to where he was and sat down next to him.

"Where's Cam?" She asked him.

"In the car."

"And Abby and Townsend?"

"They were giving me a minute..."

"I'm sorry...I'll go..." She said, going to get up.

"No, Macey." He said, stopping her. "Wait."  
"What is it?"

"I made a promise to Preston. The day before he went off to Iraq, he came to see me. Obviously he told me what he was doing, but he gave me something. Two things, actually. They're letters."

"Why are you giving them to me now?"

"There were 3. One was a short note to me, telling me to give the other two letters to you if I absolutely had to. I was only to give them to you if anything bad happened to him. If he were to be killed out there, or at all, then I had to give them to you." He said, handing two envelopes to Macey.

One was addressed to her, and the other said ' _To the one who comes after me'_.

"Zach..."

"Only one of them is yours, you're meant to give the other one away."

"Okay... Thank you. Not just for this, for everything you've done since it all happened."

"You don't have to thank me.."

"Yes...Yes I do. Now come on, it's doing you no good staying here." She said, getting up off of the ground and holding her hand out to him.

"I can't leave him..."

"I know, Zach. I know. I don't want to go either. Believe me, I'd never leave his side ever again if it was possible. But we have to go."

He hesitated for a moment, but took Macey's hand and stood up. As he stood up, he sighed deeply and tried to compose himself.

"Zach." Townsend appeared with Abby by his side.

"We'll give you two a moment" Abby said, looking at Townsend and Zach as she walked to the side with Macey.

"You held it together pretty well." Abby stated.

"I can't fall apart, Abby. I'm not saying that because I'm trying to be brave, or heroic or whatever. I'm saying it because I literally cannot fall apart. I've tried to cry myself to sleep for a week, but I can't. I can't breathe, or eat or sleep and I can't cry. I'm just empty. I'm numb. I can't feel anything, Abby."

"Macey... I don't know what I can say to you. But it will pass. The feeling of numbness will pass. One day you might wake up and not feel empty all of a sudden. But you won't know that it's happening until it does. And then you will fall apart. You'll break down into pieces and you won't be able to stop it. And nobody else can stop it either. But we can be here when it does happen, and we will be. We'll all be here."

"She's right." Zach came up behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder. "We will. All of us."

And Macey sighed, for she couldn't quite think of what to say or even how to say it. This was going to be difficult, for everybody. Because Preston Winters was gone, and now everything had changed.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, so I know what you're thinking. I literally updated like 2 hours ago. But it makes sense to me to update again.**

 **So I am.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***A WEEK LATER (January 5th)***

She stood outside in the pouring rain with tears rolling down her face. She held a crying Isabella tightly in her arms,knocked on the door. There was no answer, so she tried again and a second later, Abby opened it.

"Macey? It's one in the morning. What are you doing here?"

"I know, I'm sorry. But I didn't know what else to do and she won't stop crying. And now, I can't stop crying and...Abby, what do I do?" She said, referring to the child in her arms.

"Jeez, you're absolutely drenched. You'd better come in." She said, opening the door fully as Macey walked in. Abby walked straight through to the kitchen and Macey followed.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"Macey, stop apologising. Give Isabella here." Abby instructed,and Macey handed the child to her.

Abby wrapped a towel around her, rocked her gently and within a few minutes she was asleep. She walked upstairs,put Isabella in the cot in the spare room and walked back down to Macey, throwing a towel at her too.

"She's been keeping me awake for the past week. I can't deal with her Abby, I just can't do it without him. Not now, when I have another baby on the way and..."

"What are you gonna do then?"

"I need to ask you a favour..."

"Are you asking me to look after your child?"

"No! No, it's fine. Nothing like that, I'll just..."

"It's okay, Macey."

"Wait...what?"

"I'll look after her. Okay? You need time, and space. Me and Townsend can look after her for a week or so. But I'm off to Estonia next week so..."

"Thank you. Thank you so much Abby" Macey said, hugging her tightly.

"You turn up at my house at 1AM, give me your child and now you decide to soak me because you stood out in the rain for 5 minutes. Really feeling the love, Mace." Abby laughed a little.

"Well it was more like 10 minutes, I couldn't decide whether to knock or not. Anyway, are you sure it'll be okay? Because you haven't even spoken to Townsend about it yet, and what if he doesn't like the idea?"

"You should know by now that I make and follow my own rules, I'm not gonna _ask_ him because he doesn't get a say in it. Besides, if he doesn't like it then he can go find another place to stay for a week."

"I feel like I'm asking too much. And anyway, I'm gonna have to get use to dealing with it by myself because once this other baby is born..."

"You should also know by now that if I didn't want to do something, I would make it absolutely crystal clear. Your husband died two weeks ago, you had to bury him last week, you quit your job and you have a one year old to look after whilst trying to keep a fetus happy. You're gonna need a little help until you find your way. You might feel like you're not coping at the moment, you might feel like you're drowning but considering the situation that you've been put it, I think you're doing a pretty awesome job."

"Really?"

"I'm only a liar when I need to be." She replied, and Macey laughed a little.

Their conversation got interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs and into the kitchen. Townsend.

"Abigail." He started, and Macey tried to hold back a laugh knowing exactly how the conversation was going to turn out.

"Yes darling?" Abby responded in a sickly-sweet tone that she would only ever use to irritate someone, usually Townsend.

"Please explain to me why there is a baby asleep in the spare room."

"We're looking after Isabella for a week."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"Do you...? Do you get a say in this? Townsend, Macey turned up on our doorstep at 1am, literally crying for help. And you ask me if you get a say in it? No, you don't get a say this. Just go back to bed, we'll talk in the morning."

Townsend hesitated for a few moments, and then turned to Abby and gave her a look which could've been interpreted by a million different people in a million different ways. Then he looked up. "Fine" He said, sounding like he was way too tired to argue with Abby as he walked back up the stairs.

"Abby... don't argue with him over me."

"Oh I won't, he's just being difficult. Now, you look dreadful, when was the last time you slept properly?"

"I don't even remember. It doesn't matter though..."

"Macey, you're nearly 6 months pregnant and not getting enough sleep. I highly doubt that you're eating properly as well, am I right?"

Macey's silence was a good enough answer for Abby. "What are we gonna do with you? Go home, get some sleep. Isabella will be fine, so don't worry about her. Just worry about yourself for a week. Okay?"

And for one of the only times in her life, Macey did what she was told.

* * *

Cammie stood in the kitchen at Macey's house. She had turned up this morning, without any warning at all. Macey hadn't minded though, she appreciated the company. Neither of them had actually spoken to each other, they had just sat in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate and eating pancakes. It wasn't much, but it gave them both a sense of comfort. Now Macey was sat by the window, staring outside and Cammie had begun to clear up. She opened the cupboard, as she began to put the plates away. As she picked up the last one, her grip on it loosened and it fell out of her hand.

The noise shocked Macey out of one of her daydreams, and she looked up at Cammie.

"I'm sorry." Cammie said apologetically. It was one of the only things Cammie had said to her. They hadn't had a proper conversation since Preston's funeral.

"It's fine. It's just a plate." Macey half-smiled. Anyone who looked at her for more than a second could tell that she was still numb.

"No, Mace. I don't think you get it. I'm sorry, and it's not about the plate."

" Oh, right."

Cammie stepped over the broken piece of crockery and walked over to Macey, who was still by the window. She wrapped her arms around Macey, who immediately grabbed onto Cammie as if she were the last thing in the world that she had left.

"I'm so sorry. I know I've barely spoken since the funeral but I didn't know what to say. I've not been here for you, and I should've been. Zach's being so distant, I don't know what to say to him either. It just doesn't seem real. It's like it didn't happen, and he's just not here. You're not coping, and I don't know how to help you Macey. God, if I did then we wouldn't be standing here. I'm just...I'm so sorry."

There was a silence, but Macey soon broke it.

"It's okay."

"It's okay?"

"You loved him too..."

"Mace..."

"No, I wasn't being bitter. You loved him too, not always the way that I did. In your own way. But the point is, you lost him too. I lost him, Zach lost him and so did you. So it's okay. It's really okay." She pulled back from the hug and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I would ask if you're okay..."

"But you know I'm not. God, I can't bear this." She sighed.

"Can't bear what?"

"He's everywhere. Every corner of this house, every street I walk down and every crowd of people I see. There are parts of him in every place. He might be gone, but he's everywhere I turn. How do I stop that, Cammie? How do I leave it behind?"  
Macey said as tears began to spill over her eyelids again. She looked around the kitchen and fell to the floor,crying. Cammie sat beside her, trying to calm her.

"I don't know, Macey. I don't know what you should do. I don't know where you should go. I wish I could help you, but I don't know how. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

"I have to sell the house. And the apartment in DC and..."

"Macey, calm down. You don't have to do that."

"I need to be in a place where he isn't. His clothes are all still here, or they're in DC. I have to get rid of the places."

"Mace, you can't get rid of this house. It's your home."

"No, Cam, it was _our_ home. And I don't have him anymore. This was my happy place, but only when he was here with me. I can't be that kind of happy again."

"Macey..."

"Cammie. I have to sell the house."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading...again :) x**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: IT'S NEARLY THE END AND IDK WHETHER TO BE HAPPY OR SAD.**

 **Sad, like this chapter tbh.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***February 20th: Moving Day***

"Mace, that's the last box." Cammie called out from downstairs.

"The last one? The actual, real, last one?"

"Yes! It's all done." she said, as Macey ran down the stairs.

"That's a relief. Have all of the boxes gone now?"

"They're all headed straight to Gallagher. When do you get your keys to your new place?"

"Three days time. I have to hand the keys in for this one tomorrow morning."  
"How are you feeling, about that?"

"I don't know. This place, it was one of the first places I've felt happy to live in since Gallagher. We were a family here, and everything was perfect. We didn't even have a whole year here. God, it was barely even six months. But Isabella's first birthday was here. And I found out that I was pregnant again. And I kinda wanted this to be forever, you know? I wanted it to be me and Preston and our two kids in this house forever. And we'd argue about whether they'd go to Gallagher or not. We'd watch them grow up as we got older. And then they'd leave and it'd just be us two again until they came home with grandchildren. Then the house would feel alive again, and my family would feel stronger. But it was never going to work out like that, was it? Something was always going to stop that. So I guess I'm happy, because this is the house of what could never be."

"It's okay to be upset about it. A significantly important chunk of your life was spent here. You're allowed to be upset."

"I know... and I will be. But not yet."

"So, everything in DC is boxed up too?"

"It's all in storage. The apartment goes up for sale tomorrow, so that's one of them out of the way."  
"That's good."

"Yeah...Yeah I suppose it is."

"So... you think Isabella will like New York?"

"She doesn't really have a choice. I'm not asking my toddler if she wants to move to New York or not."

"What made you want to live there anyways?"

"It's one of the few places where Preston never went with me. New York was always my thing. I'd take trips there by myself. We always spoke about going there together. We were going to spend New Years Eve there this year, but obviously that didn't happen. So I thought why not?"

"And...I hate to pry but what are you going to do about work, now that you've quit the Secret Service?"

"I think I can manage for a little while, Preston left pretty much everything to me so I'm not short on money. But once both of the kids are in school, I'll find something to do."

"I'm sure they'd have you back, at the Secret Service, if you wanted to go back."  
"There's probably a policy that says they can't take me back because it was a verbal resignation. Either way, it's unlikely that they'd want me back."

"Mace, Abby told me that she spoke to the director of Secret Service after you'd walked out. He said to her that there would always be a place for you, and that it was clear that you weren't in the right frame of mind to be making such a huge decision. People don't just quit the Secret Service. It doesn't happen."

"It happens, and it did happen. I have to face what I did, and I suppose it'll be alright because it's not like I don't have things to keep me busy. I have children to raise. It's getting late, I should go pick up Isabella from Liz and Jonas."

"And I should be getting home to Zach."

"How is he?" Macey asked as they walked out of the house with Cammie just in front of her.

"He's still distant, but he's there. There are days when he's absolutely fine, but other days he won't talk, or eat or sleep. I would say he's coping, but I don't know if you can even call it that. I think he feels responsible, because Zach was the last person who spoke to Preston properly before it all happened. Before he went into the store, he called Zach asking for advice for a Christmas present for you because I wasn't picking up my phone."

"He shouldn't feel responsible, he couldn't have stopped it."

"I know that, and so does he. But sometimes that isn't a good enough excuse for him, and he refuses to believe that he couldn't have done anything."

"I know what that's like."

"I know you do." Cammie smiled slightly, and got into her car.

* * *

That night, Macey and Isabella were staying at Gallagher. Their whole lives were in boxes, so the only things that they had with them were a few clothes in a suitcase, that and the letter.

Macey looked at the envelope beside her bed. She hadn't known that he had done that, written that little note for her. And when she had been given in, just over a month ago, she waited as long as she could to open it. This was as long as she could wait. So she took the envelope in her hands and opened it carefully. She pulled the letter out, and began to read.

 _Macey,_

 _I really, truly hope that you never have to read this. I hope Zach doesn't have to give it to you, and I hope you never see it in your life. But unfortunately, the reality is that you're reading this letter right now because Zach gave it to you. Because I'm gone._

 _First of all, I'm sorry. I'm probably dead, or close to death and you're gonna be extremely mad at me for a while, if not the rest of your life. You're angry at me for leaving you, for abandoning you. Right?_

 _See, I know you too well._

 _My point is, it's okay. It's okay for you to scream until you can't breath anymore. It's okay for you to go for weeks without sleeping. It's okay for you to cry and cry until tears won't actually fall out of your eyes anymore. And it's okay for you to be angry at me. (I'll allow it, just this once.) But what's not okay, is the fact that you're probably blaming yourself for whatever happened. Chances are, you couldn't have stopped it if you tried. You're not a superhero, although you always were to me. You can scream, but not at yourself. You can cry, but not because you think you should've done something. And you can be angry, but not at yourself. Okay?_

 _Secondly, I don't care what anybody says. You DO NOT have to be the strong one. I, as your husband, best friend and everything else that I am or ever was to you, am giving you full permission to fall apart whenever you feel the need to. Be it in front of our friends, in front of our daughter or in front of our parents. You can break down and cry as much as you need to. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You don't have to support everyone else, you don't have to do anything for them. If I'm gone, you're allowed to grieve. Just not for too long._

 _Thirdly, I want you to be happy. I want you to go out there and find somebody else who makes you happy. Don't be alone. And if you find someone who treats you right, and truly loves you then give them the other letter that came with this one. Zach gave you two, right? This one is for you, and the other is for them. And if they don't treat you right. If they hurt you, or upset you, or make you feel anything less than perfect then give them hell. Make them regret the day they screwed around with you._

 _I don't want to write 'finally', because I don't want to end this letter. But it's the last main point that I have for you, so I guess it is final._

 _I can't compress into this letter all of the feelings that I've ever felt for you. And I can't explain to you in any combination of words how much you mean to me. You should know that, you do know that. The only reflection of my love for you that I can leave is this letter, and Isabella. I know that you will, but raise her right. Make her grow up to be like you, to not take crap from anybody and to strive for nothing but perfection in everything she does. Sit with her while she sleeps. Sing to her when she cries. Hold her tightly when her first love breaks her heart. Give her away on her wedding day when she's ready to become part of somebody else's heart. Teach her everything you know, tell her about how much I loved her and don't let her forget about me._

 _In my lifetime, I've done so many things that have hurt you. So many things that have been wrong for us. But I said to you that I'd try for the rest of my life to make those mistakes up to you. And though my life may have been cut short, I hope I managed to do that. I hope you can try to forgive me. But if you can't, then I understand. I don't blame you._

 _I don't want you to spend your life crying tears over me. You can grieve for a little while but I want you to move on eventually. Can you do that for me? Please honey?_

 _I love you Macey. I always have, and I always will. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so unbelievably sorry._

 _Move on, but don't forget me_

 _Preston._

The letter fell out of Macey's hands as tears cascaded down her cheeks. She brushed the tears off of her face, picked up the letter and clutched it to her chest. She could feel the beat of her own heart pounding heavily and rapidly through the paper. Reading that letter was a bad idea, she shouldn't have done it. Why did she do it? Before she had read it, it didn't seem like Preston was really gone. She never got the chance to hear a proper goodbye. But this was it, this was the goodbye that she didn't want to hear. She had seen the goodbye. She had read the goodbye. And now he was truly gone.

As she continued to wipe the tears from her eyes, she heard crying from Isabella's bed next to her. So Macey pulled herself out of her bed and walked over to her daughter. Isabella sad up in her bed, with her hands reaching out for Macey. Macey looked at her and sighed. She wrapped her arms around her, lifted her out of her bed and rested her on her hip.

 _"Teach her everything you know, tell her about how much I loved her and don't let her forget about me."_ Preston's words repeated in her head.

"It's okay sweetie, Mommy's here." She soothed the hysterical child, who seemed to do nothing but throw tantrums and cry these days. Usually, when Isabella started screaming during the night she would talk, but this time she was just silent. "What's wrong?" Macey asked her, smoothing the little girl's hair with her hands.

"Daddy..." Isabella trailed off. "I want Daddy"

Macey had to take a few deep breaths to stop herself from bursting into tears. Isabella had been more attached to Preston, it was obvious to anyone and everyone. And now he wasn't here.

"Come on sweetie, just try and go back to sleep."

Isabella rubbed her eyes and shook her head, but then pointed to Macey's bed.

"Okay.." Macey said, too exhausted to protest. So she walked over to her bed and placed Isabella in it. Macey lay next to her daughter, who had formed a tight grip on her arm. She looked up at the ceiling, and prayed that after tonight things would get easier. For both of them.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Helloooo**

 **I was meant to update yesterday, but I forgot. Oops.**

 **So, this is the second to last chapter before all is over.**

 **However, I will have some relatively kinda exciting news (I find it exciting, anyway.)**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

***April 14th***

Macey lay in the hospital bed in New York, with Isabella sleeping in the chair to her left and her newborn baby sleeping in the glass cot to her right. It was only 8am, and Macey had expected to be much more tired than she was.

Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. Macey looked up and saw Cammie standing in the doorway.

"Macey Winters! I am absolutely positively furious with you. Why didn't you call me?"

"Cam, why are you here?"

"I'm listed as your next emergency contact, idiot. You should've called me when you went into labor!"

"What could you've done from Virginia?"

"Not much, but I could've been here sooner!"

"It was fine. I'm fine."

"I see that." Cammie said, gesturing to the sleeping baby and walking towards Macey. "He's gorgeous."

"He's all I have left of Preston... Him and Isabella."

"It's okay, Macey." Cammie said, sitting next to Macey on the bed and hugging her. "Does he have a name yet?"

"We decided when we found out we were expecting again, that if it were a boy we were going to think about calling him Samuel. We got into a few arguments about it, because we weren't sure after the whole Circle thing. But it's what he wanted to do, so yeah. His name is Samuel."

"That's sweet. Even if he did try to kill me." Cammie said, laughing a little.

"Did you tell Zach, and the others?"

"Zach's parking the car, but I didn't tell anyone else. I didn't think you'd want me to."

"Thank you." Macey said gratefully. "It would've felt too much like last time, but Preston wouldn't have been here and it would've felt wrong."

"I know. Cammie smiled.

Just then, Zach walked into the hospital room.

"Hey Zach." Macey looked up again, smiling.

"Hey." He replied, coming to Cammie's side. "Are you alright? Did everything go okay? I mean..."

"Look..." Cammie said, pointing once again to the sleeping baby.

"My God, he looks..."

"Like Preston? Yeah, I know." Macey said, sighing but still smiling.

"Great, now we have a mini-Macey _and_ a mini-Preston. The next generation truly _is_ doomed." Zach said, laughing.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, you guys want something?" Cammie asked, standing up.

"No thanks." Macey said, and Zach shook his head.

Once Cammie had left, Macey looked over at Zach. "You seem...better."

"It's taking time, a lot of time."

"I know."

"I can't get used to not having him around. It's horrible. It's like, everywhere I turn..."

"You can see him, I get that. That's why we had to move. I couldn't live in that house anymore after everything had been so perfect between us, it just felt wrong."

"You've done well Macey, looking after yourself and Isabella. Having this baby by yourself."

"I didn't think I could do it without him. I thought I'd have another miscarriage, because of the stress or something like that. I didn't expect to be here. And after the funeral, I was just numb. I thought I'd never be able to feel anything real again now that he's gone. But it's all changed."

"He'd be proud of you, you know. He'd be proud of everything that you've done since he died."

"He's proud of you too, Zach. I can feel it."

"Cammie didn't tell me that you'd taken up a career being a psychic."

"I'll still kick your ass, Goode."

"And Macey shows her true, evil colours once again."

"You'd better believe it." Macey said, laughing.

Cammie watched Zach and Macey laughing from the doorway. She felt nothing but relief and happiness. Her husband and her best friend had been sad for so long, for too long. And now they were sitting there laughing. Nothing could have made Cammie happier.

* * *

***December 21st***

"My name is Macey Winters, and I stand here tonight as the founder of the Preston Winters Foundation which aims to spread awareness of gun crime, and help to put a stop to it.

A year ago today, my husband was shot dead in a random mass shooting in Richmond, Virginia. There was no explanation as to why the gunman shot the 12 people that he did. But he did it, and 12 families lost a member.

In front of me today, I see many of those families and I thank them for coming. Their support means the world to me, and I cannot show enough appreciation for their backing. I also see my friends, and my family and I thank them too, for everything that they have done for me within the last year.

When my husband died, I found it very hard to feel anything for a very long time. I struggled to get out of bed each morning. I couldn't eat or sleep and most days I didn't want to breathe. Some days I though that it would be best if I were the one who had been killed instead, and I often wished it had been me. But I knew that I had to keep going on with my life. I was 6 months pregnant at the time and after losing 2 children already, I couldn't lose a third. I had to have this baby, for it was one of the only pieces of Preston that I had left in my life.

Up until the day I gave birth to my second child, in April this year, I was still completely numb. I had only let myself fall to pieces once, at my lowest point where I wished that I could be with Preston, and not in this world. But when Samuel was born, I looked at him and my world had changed completely. My 2 year old daughter, and my 8 month old son are the reason that I'm still here. They are a constant reminder of Preston, and what he would have wanted.

So I may not be numb anymore, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Bits and pieces of my life with Preston come back in flashes and sometimes it hurts so much that I want to fall apart and cry myself to sleep. I don't, I can't and I won't. But I want to.

What happened to my husband taught me many things. The main thing that I learned was that people deal with death in different ways. Some people shut off completely, some laugh to hide pain and some just freeze and lose their way. But nobody should have to deal with what myself, my family, friends and those other 11 families had to deal with. No one should have to go through that, because it can be prevented.

There are thousands of petitions to stop gun violence and to change laws, and by adding one signature to any of these it means we are a step closer to preventing other families from going through what we did. The people with the power to make a difference need support, support which we can give.

So before you leave today, ask yourselves if you ever want to be in a situation where a doctor is telling you that someone you know has died from a bullet wound. Ask yourselves if you'd be happy to switch off the life support machine of your husband, wife, child, sibling or your parent. Would you do it? Could you?

Ask yourselves that question, and then make your decision. Are you with us, or against us?

Thank you."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :) x**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Helloooo,**

 **So here we are. The beginning of the end. This chapter is structured weirdly and it's all sappy and ew, sentiment.**

 **But, here we go.**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

Preston Winters dies at the age of 33. He is the victim of a random shooting in Richmond, Virginia and is killed by two bullets to the chest. He leaves everything he has to Macey.

Cameron Anne Goode (née Morgan) continues to work for the CIA until the age of 35. She has 2 children, Genim and Arabella. After Preston's death, Cammie never mentions anything of her brief yet complicated relationship with him to anybody again. She takes over as Headmistress of the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women after leaving the CIA.

It takes Zachary Goode an extremely long time to get over the death of Preston. After losing his only real best friend,he makes a habit of never getting too close to anybody else again. He leaves the CIA soon after Cammie, so she doesn't have to worry about him going MIA and so that he can spend more time with their kids.

Abigail Cameron (married to Edward Townsend, chose to keep her maiden name) retires from the CIA exactly a year after the death of Preston Winters. She continues to teach at Gallagher, until her sister retires from the position of Headmistress. Abby was always determined to have a child, but after Preston's death she changes her mind, never wanting to be put in the same situation as Macey. Both Abby and Edward are okay with the fact that they never have children. Abby continued to be a huge support for Macey, especially during the time after Preston's death.

Isabella Abigail Winters, daughter of Macey and Preston Winters, grows up with nothing but stories about her father. She never remembers him by herself, but she wishes she could. As a teenager, she misses her father a lot. When she argues with her mother, she wishes he were there. But she knows that he misses her too, and somehow that's comforting. Isabella attends Gallagher, but after graduation she attends Yale and studies law. At the age of 30, she runs for senator of Virginia to honour her father. She wins the election, and eventually becomes Vice President. Macey is nothing but supportive of this.

Samuel Winters, son of Macey and Preston Winters, never knew his father at all. He, like his sister, relied on his mother's stories to learn about what his dad was like. Macey allows Samuel to attend Blackthorne, which under Jonas, Grant and Joe's control is transformed into the male equivalent of Gallagher. He trains until he is 18, when he informs his mother and sister that he will be joining the CIA. Macey is hesitant at first, and doesn't particularly approve of the idea but she wants Samuel to be happy. He attends Harvard part-time, and graduates with a law degree.

Macey Winters (née McHenry) hands in her resignation from the Secret Service the day after Preston dies. Due to the cause of her husband's death, she frequently makes appearances at charity galas, and campaigns against Gun Crime. As well as this, she teaches Covert Operations at The Gallagher Academy when Cammie is Headmistress. She raises Isabella and Samuel with strong and happy memories of Preston. She also keeps her last name as Winters, and never remarries.

At the age of 93, on her deathbed and surrounded by her son, daughter, their spouses and Macey's 3 grandchildren, she asks for the other letter that Preston wrote.

* * *

Isabella and Samuel exchange a concerned look but Macey smiles. "You both look just like your father when you pull that face."

Samuel smiles a little and hands her the letter, from a box underneath her bed. "Do you want us to leave, Mom?" Isabella asks and Macey nods.

"We'll come check on you in the morning, okay?" Samuel says, kissing Macey's forehead. Isabella hugs her mother tightly, Macey's grandchildren, George,Sofia and Charlie say goodbye and they all walk out leaving Macey alone in her room again.

Macey sighs deeply before opening up the envelope and pulling out the letter.

 _To the next one who makes her happy,_

 _I'm not sure if you've heard about me. You probably have. But either way, this isn't about me. This is about Macey._

 _You probably already know a lot about her, if she's given you this letter. But I still feel like there are some things that I should emphasise._

 _She's strong, but she's secretive when she isn't doing okay. She'll shut herself away and tell you that she's alright. But she's lying, which she's good at. But if you can't see through that one yet, you should probably just leave._

 _She gets jealous. So, so jealous. It's scary, and strange and awfully unpredictable. She might not tell you how she's feeling at first, actually she probably won't tell you at all so you'll have to guess. But just go with it. If you love her, you'll learn to live with it._

 _That leads me on to point number 3. Don't give her any reason to get jealous. Don't talk to her about other girls, don't even look in the direction of another female when you're in her presence and just stay the hell away from her best friends. Don't get involved with them, that's a dangerous, dangerous game. Trust me._

 _If she tells you that you don't love her enough, don't get angry or upset. Give her thousands of reasons why she's wrong._

 _That's the other thing, she's never normally wrong. So if her judgement is telling her that you don't love her, then you're not doing this right._

 _Finally, I don't know if she's chosen to tell you. But she's been through so much pain and heartbreak before. So don't add to it. From such a young age her idea of love was corrupted, don't give her a reason to become cynical again. Don't hurt her, because you'll have a lot of people fighting against you if you do. Her best friends are her family, they're her sisters and they'll kill you without a second thought if you do anything to harm her. So don't._

 _Don't you dare hurt her, because she's all I had. And for some unfortunate reason I've obviously lost her, and she's lost me. She was the best person I've ever met, and I've met a lot of people. So if you stare into those icy blue eyes and instantly fall in love, then keep her. Keep her safe and treasure her like she's the last thing on earth. Because she's the best thing that's happened to you and it's better that you realise that sooner rather than later._

 _And don't go showing her this, or telling her about it. Because she'll get embarrassed, she'll cringe and she might even cry. And I don't want her to do that._

 _I love her too much to hurt her again._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Preston Winters._

For the first time in over 50 years, Macey began to cry because of Preston Winters. They weren't unhappy tears, they were tears of hurt and loss, but they weren't unhappy. Like usual, Macey was impatient. She knew what was happening to her, she was old and frail and very close to the end. But she wished it would just hurry up and come quickly. So she sat there, and began to pray. She wasn't sure who or what she was praying to, because Macey had never exactly been very religious. But either way, she was praying. She wanted to go in her sleep, for it to be peaceful and painless for both herself and her family. So she clutched the letter close to her chest, lied back down on the bed and closed her eyes for the last time.

* * *

Macey Winters died peacefully in her sleep at 10:54pm on December 22nd.

Samuel walked into the bedroom in the morning to check on his mother. When he got into the room, he saw his mother laying there still and called out for his sister. She ran straight upstairs to him.

"Sam? Sam, what is it?"

"It's mom, she's gone." He said, as Isabella came to his side.

They sat down on the floor next to the bed and Samuel began to cry. Isabella couldn't cry, she just felt a little empty. She figured this was how her mother had felt when their father had her grandparents had died, she remembered her mother telling her that people dealt with death in different ways. This had been Macey's way of dealing with death and Isabella was always a little too much like her mother. So she wrapped her arms around her brother and tried to comfort him.

"It's okay Sammie, it's okay." She tried to reassure him as she felt her heart breaking.

"No, Izzie, it's not okay." He protested.

"Yes it is, don't you get it? She's happy now."  
"But she was happy with us."  
"You don't understand Sammie, she can be with dad now. They're together again."

And Isabella was right. Macey McHenry had wanted nothing more out of life than to be with Preston Winters. They had come together and then fallen apart so many times that the universe had lost count. When they had finally come together and felt happy, destiny tore them apart. It ripped Preston from the world and took him from the person who had loved him most. And for 60 years, Macey had lived without him. But now she didn't have to. They were together, for the rest of eternity.

* * *

 ***cringes at the last few sentences bc ew it's so sappy but I had to end it somehow.***

 **So yeah.**

 **It's done.**

 **Finished.**

 **Finito.**

 **HOWEVER, I HAVE NEWS.**

 **I have decided (and already started) to write a spin-off/companion to this story, and the last one.**

 **It's basically a series of one-shots detailing what happened between Cammie/Preston.**

 **So yeah, that'll be up at some point. Idk when. Just thought I should let you know.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for reading and reviewing and supporting this story in general, it really means a lot :) x**


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